;-NRLF 


H13 


Rarerve  Storage 
Collaetian 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 
SANTA  CRUZ 


DR,  B,  F,  STEPHENSON, 


FOUNDER  OF  THE 


GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


A   MEMOIR, 


BY  HIS  DAUGHTER, 


MARY  HARRIET  STEPHENSON, 


SPRINGFIELD : 

THE   H.    W.    ROKKEB  FEINTING   HOUSE. 
1894. 


7?s*5$ 


^Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1894, 

BY  MARY  HAEEIET  STEPHENSON, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


E 


DEDICATION. 

To  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


To  that  army  of  heroes,  christened  by  the  smoke 
and  blood  of  battle-fields,  sealed  their  country's  own 
by  the  hardships,  privations  and  dangers  endured  in 
her  cause;  who  left  their  pleasant  firesides  and  offered 
their  comfort,  their  worldly  prosperity,  yea  even  life 
itself,  on  the  alter  of  their  native  land,  the  smell  of 
which  offering  went  up  as  a  sweet  savor  to  the  God 
of  Battles;  our  country's  stay  and  pride;  they  who 
stand  now,  as  they  stood  in  the  terrible  days  of 
1861-64,  the  Bulwarks  of  the  Nation's  defense,  in  the 
van  of  Freedom's  great  hosts;  pledged  to  Loyaltj^ 
Fraternity,  Charity;  that  army  which  has  dried  the 
tears  of  so  many  soldiers'  widows  and  orphans,  which 
has  enabled  the  scarred  and  aged  veteran  to  tread 
the  last  steps  of  his  way  to  his  reward  surrounded  by 
comforts  and  honored  by  his  country;  which  takes 
tender  and  beautiful  care  of  the  helpless  and  the 
afflicted;  which  lives  in  every  day  of  its  life  its  beau- 
tiful motto:  to  this  army  of  great  hearts,  from  the 
brave  Major  General  to  the  humblest  wooden-legged 
hero  who  is  proud  to  don  the  blue  on  G.  A.  R.  days, 
this  little  volume,  containing  th,e  history  of  one  who 
loved  them  all,  and  labored  for  their  good,  is  respect- 
fully and  affectionately  dedicated,  by  its  author. 

JANUARY  12,  1892. 


PREFACE. 

A  very  great  majority  of  the  veterans  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Kepublic  know  but  little  more  of  their 
founder  than  his  name,  and  until  a  few  years  ago,  few 
outside  of  Illinois  knew  even  the  name  of  the  man  who 
originated  their  order.  I  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to 
set  forth  my  father's  life  and  character,  so  that  all 
veterans  might  know  him  and  his  work. 

The  memoir  is  not  so  complete  as  I  had  wished  it  to 
be,  on  account  of  the  material  for  collecting  informa- 
tion being  meagre  and  scattering.  Great  quantities  of 
my  father's  papers  were  destroyed  soon  after  his  death 
by  my  mother.  She  did  not  think  them  valuable. 
Had  she  known  their  importance  she  would  not  have 
destroyed  them. 

I  desire  to  acknowledge  my  debt  of  gratitude  to  those 
who  have  so  kindly  assisted  me  by  furnishing  anec- 
dotes, items  of  interest,  and  various  data.  My  father's 
very  dear  friend,  and  mine,  also,  I  am  proud  to  believe, 
Major  John  F.  Nolte,  of  Independence,  Kansas,  not 
only  very  promptly  and  enthusiastically  responded  to 
my  request  for  items,  but  has  cheered,  enthused,  and 
encouraged  me  amid  the  discouragements  of  my  under- 
taking, so  that  I  feel  that  I  owe  him  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude which  mere  words  can  never  express.  I  wish  to 
thank,  also,  very  cordially,  Col.  Daniel  Grass,  of  Inde- 
pendence, Kansas,  for  his  valuable  information  so 
kindly  furnished,  and  for  his  many  kind  wishes  for  the 
success  of  my  undertaking.  Mr.  Samuel  Walker,  of  Lay, 


vi  PREFACE. 

Kansas,  Gen.  James  C.  Veach,  of  Rockport,  Indiana, 
Miss  Josephine  P.  Cleveland,  of  the  State  Historical  Li- 
brary, Springfield,  111.,  D.  C.  Brinkerhoff,  Commander 
Stephenson  Post,  Springfield,  111.,  Col.  Frederick  Phis- 
terer,  present  Adjutant-General,  G.  A.  R.  U.  S.,  and  Mr. 
J.  H.  Spears,  of  Elmwood,  Neb.,  have  all  very  kindly 
furnished  rne  with  items,  for  which  I  take  the  present 
opportunity  to  renew  my  thanks.  Gen.  Beath's History 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  has  furnished  some 
of  the  items  relating  to  the  Indianapolis  convention, 
and  three  succeeding  ones. 


CONTENTS. 


PAET  I. 

PAGES. 

Dr.  Stephenson's  Youth  and  Early  Manhood 1-15 


PART  II. 

His  Army  Life 16-37 

PAET  III. 

The  Founding  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 38-71 

PART  IV. 

Conclusion . .  72-76 


DR.  B.  F.  STEPHENSON, 


FOUNDER  OF  THE 


GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


PART  I. 


"Haply  some  hoary-headed  swain  may  say, 
'Oft  have  we  seen  him  at  the  peep  of  dawn, 

Brushing  with  hasty  steps  the  dews  away, 
To  meet  the  sun  upon  the  upland  lawn. 

'There,  at  the  foot  of  yonder  nodding  beech 
That  wreathes  its  old  fantastic  roots  so  high, 

His  listless  length  at  noontide  would  he  stretch, 
And  pore  upon  the  brook  that  babbles  by.'" 

"Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise; 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies.'* 

The  self-made  man  does  not  exist,  has  never  existed. 
The  environments  of  circumstance  mold  us  to  an  extent 
\ve  often  fail  to  realize.  But  sift  out  these  environ- 
ments, and  a  larger  residuum  of  individuality  would 
remain  in  some  characters  than  in  others.  Here  and 
there  we  find  a  soul  so  great  that  it  wages  war  against 
circumstance,  subdues  it,  and  well  nigh  molds  it  to  its 
will.  Before,  however,  the  great  soul  has  gained  the 


2  A  MEMOIR  OF 

power  of  overcoming  all  opposing  circumstances,  envi- 
ronments will  have  left  their  indelible  impress  on  it. 
And  even  in  its  all-conquering  career,  the  sensitive 
•essence  is  being  constantly  modified  by  forces  outside 
itself.  The  mark  of  the  conflict  is  impressed  on  the 
body,  over  which  circumstance  must  finally  prevail. 

Most  men,  if  they  would  form  noble  characters  and 
achieve  worthy  things,  must  gird  on  their  armor  and 
do  valiant  battle  with  hostile  environments,  and  the 
earlier  they  enter  the  fight  the  greater  the  degree  of 
probable  conquest. 

The  achievement  of  an  end  is  called  success.  A  man 
may  esteem  himself  unsuccessful,  may  even  be  so  judged 
by  his  friends,  and  yet,  for  all  that,  he  may  have 
achieved  those  ends  toward  which  the  bent  of  his  nature 
tended,  which  were  the  natural  sequence  of  his  charac- 
ter. Such  an  one,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  was  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

James  Stephenson,  the  father  of  Dr.  Stephenson,  was 
a  native  of  South  Carolina,  but  emigrated  to  Kentucky. 
There  he  met  and  married  Margaret  Clinton,  a  native 
of  North  Carolina.  After  residing  here  for  a  time,  he 
again  removed  his  household  goods  to  a  new  country, 
this  time  taking  up  his  abode  in  Illinois. 

In  Wayne  county,  Illinois,  October  3,  1823,  Benjamin 
Franklin  Stephenson  was  born.  He  was  one  of  the 
younger  members  of  a  large  family.  Since  ancestry 
combines  with  circumstance  in  forming  character,  some 
further  account  of  James  and  Margaret  Stephenson 
«eems  admissible. 

Mothers  are  very  important  factors  in  the  molding 
of  character,  and,  in  studying  the  life  of  a  man,  one  of 
the  first  questions  which  presents  itself  is  always  "What 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  6 

kind  of  a  mother  had  he?"  But,  although  Dr.  Stephen- 
son  had  a  very  good  mother,  it  would,  in  all  proba- 
bility, be  fair  to  estimate  the  influence  of  his  father's 
character  on  his  to  have  been  fully  as  great  as  that 
of  his  mother. 

James  Stephenson  was  a  man  whom  to  know  was 
to  esteem  and  love;  the  ideal  father,  kind,  yet  firm. 
His  was  the  philosopher's  nature,  calm  and  logical. 
His  heart  was  kind,  his  judgment  ripe,  his  nature 
manly.  Well  do  I  remember  the  tones  of  reverence 
and  pride  with  which  his  children  spoke  of  him  after 
they  had  become  gray-headed  men  and  women.  He 
was  a  man  of  strong  religious  convictions,  and  be- 
lieved that  the  religious  code  was  for  every-day  use. 
A  careful  student  of  the  Bible,  and  what  other  books 
his  limited  means  admitted  of  his  possessing,  he  im- 
planted in  his  children  a  love  for  knowledge.  His  na- 
ture was  large  and  broad  enough  to  take  in  the  idea 
that  others  might  hold  different  opinions  from  his 
own  and  yet  be  honest  in  their  convictions,  holding 
them  by  the  same  right  by  which  he  held  his.  Liberal 
minded,  large  hearted,  he  was  neither  inclined  to  strain 
at  a  gnat  nor  to  swallow  a  camel. 

Margaret  Stephenson  was  one  of  those  model  house- 
wives, energetic  and  capable,  warm-hearted  and  hos- 
pitable. A  woman  of  extraordinary  spirit  and  deter- 
mination. One  of  her  relatives,  not  a  direct  ancestor, 
however,  was  Charles  Carroll,  a  signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  It  is  related  that  when,  in 
company  with  those  other  bold  men  who  took  their 
lives  in  their  hands,  Charles  Carroll  affixed  his  name, 
the  other  gentlemen  remarked,  "You  can  sign  safely 
enough.  There  are  so  many  Carrolls  the  British  Gov- 
ernment will  never  know  which  one  it  is."  Carroll, 


4  A    MEMOIR    OF 

who  had  laid  down  his  pen,  immediately  seized  it 
again  and  wrote  after  his  name  "of  Carrollton,"  thus 
distinguishing  himself  from  others  of  the  same  name. 

When  Frank,  for  this  was  the  abbreviation  by  which 
Dr.  Stephenson  was  known  in  his  youth,  was  a,bout 
three  years  of  age  his  father  removed  from  Wayne  to 
Sangamon  County,  and  in  the  latter  county  Frank 
passed  his  early  youth.  There  were  eleven  children  in 
the  family,  and  Dr.  Stephenson  was  the  seventh.  Only 
three  of  this  large  family  now  survive,  Mrs.  Jacob 
Swingle,  Mrs.  A.  K.  Houghton,  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Spears, 
all  residing,  at  present,  near  Petersburg,  111. 

Many  a  hard  task  did  these  hardy  pioneer  children 
accomplish,  many  a  simple  pleasure  did  they  enjoy 
•together.  And  among  them  none  was  more  mischiev- 
ous or  fonder  of  fun  than  Frank,  He  teased  his 
younger  sisters,  and  played  pranks  on  the  older  ones, 
and  often  was  the  worthy  mother  driven  to  her  wits 
ends  to  preserve  order  among  her  large  and  lively 
family. 

The  schools  to  which  my  father  was  sent  were  such 
as  the  new  country  afforded.  One  end  filled  with  a 
big  fireplace  which  roasted  your  face  while  your  back 
froze,  or  vice  versa,  the  seats  of  split  logs  and  walls 
innocent  of  plaster.  The  spaces  left  between  the  logs 
for  the  purpose  of  admitting  light  were  nicknamed 
windows.  The  "master"  flourished  a  big  ferule,  and 
was  not  sparing  of  its  use,  for  in  those  days  "lickin' 
and  larnin'"  was  the  creed.  Notwithstanding  these 
extremely  primitive  educational  advantages,  Frank 
learned  rapidly  what  the  rural  pedagogue  professed 
to  teach.  The  curriculum,  however,  extended  but  lit- 
tle beyond  the  three  R's.  When  still  quite  young,  he 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  5 

was  noted  for  his  proficiency  in  spelling,   and,  in  the 
rural  spelling  schools,  he  was  quite  a  champion. 

In  those  early  days,  in  my  grandfather's  neighbor- 
hood, the  more  intellectually  inclined  had  an  institu- 
tion which  they  called  polemics.  It  resembled  the 
modern  lyceum  or  debating  club.  My  father,  even  as 
a  child,  took  great  delight  in  these  meetings.  Noth- 
ing could  please  him  more  than  to  be  taken  to  the 
polemics.  I  have  heard  one  of  my  aunts  say  that, 
after  attending  one  of  these  meetings,  my  father  could 
remember  and  repeat  almost  everything  he  had  heard. 
Perhaps  these  rude  country  debates  sowed  the  seeds 
of  that  patriotism  which  was  such  a  passion  with  him 
in  after  life. 

The  fare  of  these  early  Illinois  settlers  was  simple  in 
the  extreme.  Of  course  they  had  plenty  of  meat,  what 
with  game,  and  the  stock  for  which  there  was  very 
little  demand  in  the  markets  in  those  times.  They  had 
plenty  of  corn  meal,  also,  and  quantities  of  vegetables; 
plenty  of  butter,  honey,  and  berries  in  their  season. 
Honey  was  a  very  useful  article  of  food  to  the  early 
settlers;  for  they,  like  the  ancients,  used  it  in  place  of 
sugar.  This  was  because  of  the  scarcity  of  money  and 
distance  of  the  markets.  If  the  settler's  wife's  honey- 
jar  was  empty,  he  could  soon  find  a  bee-tree,  and  thus 
replenish  the  larder.  They  knew  nothing  of  canning 
fruit,  and,  of  course,  had  to  wait  for  apples,  pears  and 
peaches,  until  their  orchards  grew  up;  but  they  dried 
berries,  and,  occasionally,  made  preserves  of  them, 
sweetening  with  honey.  My  grandmother  made  several 
varieties  of  corn  bread,  but  the  favorite  kind  was  that 
called  corn  pone.  It  was  a  loaf  baked  in  an  iron  oven, 
surrounded  by  glowing  coals,  and  with  coals  heaped  on 
the  lid.  When  baked,  the  bread  was  white  and  sweet. 


6  A  MEMOIR  OF 

Wheat  bread  and  cake  were  baked  only  on  rare  occa- 
sions; such  as  weddings,  or,  occasionally,  when  strange 
company  was  present. 

The  country  was  so  infected  with  malaria,  in  those 
times,  that  the  settlers  were  obliged  to  prepare  for  the 
regular  yearly  attack  of  chills  and  fever.  Their  clothes 
were  both  home-made  and  homespun,  the  spinning  and 
weaving  of  cloth  being  a  regular  occupation  of  the 
women  of  the  household. 

The  settlers'  families  were  widely  scattered.  Spring- 
field, even,  was  only  a  village,  and  the  nearest  church, 
or  preaching  station,  was  several  miles  distant.  My 
grandfather  used  to  call  the  family  together  on  Sun- 
days, and  have  scriptural  reading.  Sometimes,  they 
would  meet  at  the  house  of  a  neighbor  and  read  the 
Bible  together.  My  grandfather's  library  consisted 
chiefly  of  books  on  church  doctrine,  expositions  of  the 
Bible,  moral  philosophies,  etc.  There  were,  however, 
among  the  books,  some  histories  and  a  few  volumes 
of  poetry.  Of  these,  Frank's  chief  favorite  was  Milton, 
over  whose  sublime  pages  he  was  accustomed  to  pore 
in  his  boyhood's  leisure  hours.  In  politics,  my  grand- 
father was  a  Whig,  and  took  several  newspapers, 
among  others,  the  "New  York  Observer."  The  children 
were  entertained  and  instructed  by  the  excellent  stories 
of  the  "Youth's  Companion." 

One  of  my  grandfather's  near  neighbors  was  a  very 
superstitious  old  woman,  who  used  to  tell  my  father 
marvelous  stories  about  Yahoos.  These  gentry  were 
a  headless  species  of  ghost,  of  frightful  aspect.  Not- 
withstanding the  counteracting  precepts  of  his  parents, 
these  stories  made  considerable  impression  on  him. 
Apropos  of  Yahoos,  a  story  I  have  heard  my  father 


DR.    STEPHENSON.  Y 

tell  comes  to  'ine  from  the  dim  regions  of  the  past. 
As  nearly  as  I  can  recall,  it  was  as  follows: 

One  day  my  father  was  sent  to  the  mill  for  meal. 
By  the  time  the  miller  got  ready  to  serve  him,  it  was 
quite  late,  and,  as  soon  as  he  had  gotten  a  little  meal 
ready,  my  father,  whose  imagination  was  so  much  in- 
flamed  by  the  stories  of  the  above-mentioned  neigh- 
bor that  he  had  become  nervous  about  riding  alone 
in  the  dark,  begged  the  miller  to  let  him  take  what 
was  already  ground,  and  go  without  waiting  for  any 
more;  but  the  miller  insisted  on  filling  the  meal  sack, 
and  made  him  wait  for  it.  So,  when  he  at  last  started 
for  home,  it  was  late,  and  he  had  quite  a  distance  to 
go.  The  shadows  thickened  around  him  rapidly,  and 
soon  night  was  upon  him.  As  the  solitary  boy  rode 
through  the  dark  woods,  all  the  dreadful  stories  of 
Yahoos  to  which  he  had  listened  came  vividly  to 
mind,  and  the  poor  child's  nerves  became  completely 
unstrung.  Straining  his  eyes  along  the  dark  path, 
suddenly  an  apparition  appeared,  which  caused  every 
hair  to  stand  on  end,  sent  the  chilled  blood  back  to 
his  heart,  and  caused  the  perspiration  to  stand  out 
in  great  beads  on  his  forehead !  A  Yahoo !  There  was 
the  horrible  headless  monster  right  before  his  eyes! 
He  was  lost!  Nearer  and  nearer  it  came;  the  fright- 
ened boy,  shaking  as  with  ague,  crouched  down  on  his 
horse  and  had  not  even  the  nerve  to  turn  and  flee. 
At  length  it  suddenly  emerged  from  the  deeper  shadows 
close  to  him,  and  lo,  blessed  relief!  it  was  a  belated 
neighbor,  wending  his  way  along  the  woodland  path! 
The  greatly  relieved  but  somewhat  mortified  lad  pur- 
sued the  even  tenor  of  his  way  home,  but  encountered 
no  more  Yahoos.  It  amused  my  father  greatly  to> 
tell  this  story  in  later  years. 


8  A    MEMOIR    OF 

Frank,  like  the  other  boys  of  his  time  and  locality, 
only  spent  a  brief  portion  of  his  life  in  the  school- 
house.  He  attended  school  a  little  in  the  winter,  and 
worked  on  the  farm  in  spring,  summer,  and  autumn; 
but  he  was  eager  for  what  knowledge  he  could  acquire. 
Especially  as  he  grew  older,  approached  young  man- 
hood, the  craving  to  know  what  was  to  be  known,  to 
mingle  with  others  in  the  busy  outside  world,  and 
accomplish  great  and  worthy  things,  possessed  him. 
This  feeling  was  doubtless  fostered  by  the  example  of 
an  elder  brother.  William  Stephenson  had  gone  out 
from  his  father's  roof,  chosen  the  profession  of  medi- 
cine, and,  settling  in  Iowa,  had  become  quite  success- 
ful. He  had  built  up  a  good  practice,  and  was  running 
a,  drug  store.  Feeling  that  this  profession,  with  its 
glorious  possibilities,  was  also  his  choice,  my  father 
went  out  to  his  brother,  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa, 
about  1846,  or  wh,en  he  was  about  twenty-three  years 
old.  On  this  period  of  his  life,  I  have  not  been  able 
to  get  much  light.  He  clerked  in  his  brother's  drug 
store,  and  read  medicine  with  his  brother  and  Dr. 
€larke.  There  were  many  Indians  around  Mount 
Pleasant  at  that  time,  and  Frank  had  many  amusing 
experiences  with  them.  While  here,  he  was  quite  an 
enthusiastic  member  of  a  society  called  Sons  of  Tem- 
perance. His  father  had  always  been  a  strong  tem- 
perance man,  and  had  been  very  careful  about  the 
habits  acquired  by  his  sons.  One  winter,  while  mak- 
ing his  home  here,  he  attended  medical  lectures  at 
Columbus,  Ohio.  He  returned,  however,  to  Mount 
Pleasant.  Finally,  erysipelas  attacked  both  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Stephenson  and  Frank.  The  latter,  after  a  severe 
.and  protracted  illness,  finally  recovered,  but  his  brother 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  9 

died.  As  soon  as  Frank  was  able,  he  left  the  place 
and  came  home  to  his  father,  in  Illinois. 

During  the  winter  of  '49  and  '50,  he  attended  medi- 
cal lectures  at  Kush  Medical  College,  Chicago,  and  re- 
ceived his  diploma  from  that  institution,  dated  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1850. 

Meanwhile,  my  grandfather  had  removed  to  Menard 
County,  Illinois,  and  was  living  on  a  farm  about  seven 
miles  south  of  Petersburg.  Hither  my  father  came, 
broken  down  in  health,  as  a  result,  probably,  of  the 
severe  sickness  which  had  brought  him  so  near  death's 
door,  combined  with  the  exertions  he  had  pub  forth 
to  finish  his  medical  education.  Here,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Rock  Creek,  Menard  County,  my  father  rested 
and  recruited  his  strength  for  a  period  of  about  a  year 
and  a  half.  In  his  own  words :  "I  came  to  this  county 
(Menard)  with  fifty  cents  in  my  pocket.  I  was 

weak,  cadaverous,  and  entirely  out  of  health." 

During  this  period  of  rest  and  recuperation,  my 
father  "read  Shakespeare  and  other  kindred  works," 
mingled  with  the  young  people  of  the  neighborhood 
in  their  rural  pastimes,  and  practiced  medicine  a  little. 
His  health  improved  considerably,  and  he  decided  to 
locate  in  Petersburg,  111.,  a  pretty  little  village  nestling 
among  the  green  hills  on  the  banks  of  the  historic 
Sangamon.  Here  he  soon  built  up  a  large  practice. 

About  this  time,  Dr.  Stephenson's  father  removed 
from  his  farm  to  Petersburg.  At  the  time  of  the  re- 
moval, there  were  two  unmarried  sisters  still  at  home, 
but  the  elder  of  the  two  married  soon  after  the  father 
went  to  Petersburg.  The  younger  remained  at  home 
a  few  years  longer,  and  kept  house  for  her  father,  the 
mother  being  blind  and  almost  helpless. 


10  A  MEMOIR  OF 

Dr.  Stephen  son  and  his  next  older  brother  were  very 
social  young  men.  It  was  "hail  fellow,  well  met,  and 
won't  you  come  up  to  dinner?"  to  all  their  acquaint- 
ances. They  were  a  very  hospitable  family,  but  the 
constant  unheralded^  stream  coming  up  after  dinner 
was  on  the  table,  was  a  little  hard  on  the  housekeeper, 
Dr.  Stephenson's  sister.  "But,"  she  said  to  me  once, 
in  recalling  these  reminiscences,  "I  never  minded  any 
trouble  I  took  for  Frank."  He  had  so  many  virtues, 
and  he  made  people  love  him  so  that  they  ignored 
his  faults. 

Dr.  Stephenson<  was  very  genial  and  companionable, 
and  gathered  about  him  many  friends.  He  early 
showed  great  skill  in  his  profession,  which  he  followed 
with  the  energy  that  characterized  all  his  undertak- 
ings. He  was  vitally  interested  in  each  patient,  at- 
tending him  assiduously,  and,  if  necessary,  watching 
night  and  day  by  his  bedside.  ISor  did  he  neglect  the 
study  of  medicine  and  surgery  from  books  and  peri- 
odicals, thus  keeping  up  the  studies  which  he  had  pur- 
sued when  attending  lectures.  He  was  diligent,  both 
in  acquiring  theory,  and  in  putting  that  theory  in 
practice.  Socially,  he  was  always  at  the  service  of  his 
friends,  and  he  was  uniyersally  considered  a  "good, 
fellow." 

Deciding  to  share  the  cares  of  his  practice,  Dr. 
Stephenson  entered  into  partnership  with  Dr.  Cabanis. 

Let  us  see,  now,  what  had  been  the  influences  at 
work  on  the  pioneer  boy,  and  into  what  manner  of 
man  he  had  developed.  Growing  up  in  a  new  country, 
his  young  eyes  constantly  beholding  the  face  of  un- 
tamed nature,  the  rude  cabins  and  ruder  barns  and 
smokehouses  of  the  settlers,  scattered  sparsely  over 


DR.    STEPHENSON.  11 

the  face  of  the  wide  prairies  and  surrounded  by  their 
corn  patches,  seeming  but  to  emphasize  the  insignifi- 
cance of  man  as  compared  to  nature,  what  wonder  if 
great  mother  Nature  herself  touched  the  eager  impres- 
sible boy's  heart  with  her  magic  wand.  What  wonder 
if,  all  unconsciously,  he  drew  in  largeness  of  heart  and 
breadth  of  soul,  that  comprehensive  vastness  of  sym- 
pathy which  included  in  its  grasp  all  human  nature. 
Observant,  eager,  impressible,  he  absorbed  into  his 
rapidly  expanding  nature  the  impressions  he  received 
day  by  day. 

I  see  the  boy  some  star-light  night  after  the  hoes 
have  been  laid  aside,  the  cows  milked,  and  supper  has 
been  eaten,  lying  prone  on  the  dewy  grass,  his  young 
head  resting  on  his  arm,  gazing  up  at  the  blazing 
jewels  of  the  sky.  I  imagine  him  inquiring,  "Father, 
what  are  the  stars?  What  gives  them  their  beautiful 
light?  Are  they  so  very  far  away?"  and  kindred  ques- 
tions. His  father  gives  him  some  information;  he 
longs  to  know  more.  His  reasoning  power  is  knock- 
ing at  the  gate  of  consciousness,  his  mental  and  moral 
powers  begin  to  expand,  and  he  feels  a  half-conscious 
thrill  of  power,  as  yet  untried  and  in  its  infancy.  The 
country  debates  delight  the  child's  heart.  He  hears 
patriotic  speeches  made.  His  country  begins  to  be  an 
object  of  reverence  to  him.  Men  have  died  for  love  of 
country.  Ah,  when  he  becomes  a  man,  he,  too,  may 
sacrifice  his  life  for  his  native  land !  That  would  be  a 
glorious  death,  thinks  the  boy.  He  learns  something 
of  political  and  economic  questions,  too,  at  these  de- 
bates, and,  perhaps,  begins  studying  the  Constitution 
of  his  country. 

The  Black  Hawk  War  and  other  Indian  wars  were 
discussed  by  his  father  and  older  brothers,  and  doubt- 


12  A  MEMOIR  OF 

less  he  listened  to  many  a  thrilling  tale  of  adventure 
with  Indians.  Sitting  at  the  knee  of  father  or  mother, 
he  drank  eagerly  in  stories  of  the  revolutionary  war, 
and  the  adventures  of  his  ancestors,  or  other  relatives, 
in  those  troublous  times.  Ever  eager  for  a  story 
of  life  and  experience  or  a  scrap  of  knowledge,  the  boy 
grew  year  by  year  both  in  stature  and  mental  calibre. 

At  length,  however,  a  new  and  startling  experience 
touches  him.  An  elder  brother  is  stricken  by  death. 
The  parents  are  distracted  by  grief,  the  children  awe- 
stricken.  The  father  leads  his  sons  to  a  solitary  place, 
and  there  pours  out  his  soul  in  earnest  prayer  for 
those  still  left  him.  The  solemnity  of  this  death,  and 
its  accompanying  circumstances,  sink  deep  into  Frank's 
heart.  Within  a  few  years,  five  of  his  brothers  and 
sisters  are  claimed  by  death,  nearly  half  that  large 
family  say  their  last  farewell  to  earthly  friends  and 
pass  over  to  the  great  beyond.  Upon  so  loving  and 
faithful  a  heart  as  Frank's  all  this  must  have  made  a 
powerful  impression.  The  breath  of  the  fell  destroyer 
had  brushed  his  cheek,  warning  him  that  life  is  uncer- 
tain, that  sorrow  follows  joy  with  fleet  and  noiseless 
footstep.  When  death  comes  near  us,  it  marks  our 
souls  indelibly.  We  are  never  the  same  afterwards. 
The  successive  deaths  left  their  impress  then  on  the 
boy's  heart,  broadening  arid  deepening  it,  although, 
at  the  same  time,  touching  it  with  the  shadow  of  the 
world's  pain. 

When  he  left  his  childhood's  home,  and  went  out  to 
learn  his  chosen  profession  and  make  for  himself  a 
place  and  a  name  in  the  world,  his  horizon  broadened; 
he  met  new  faces,  came  into  contact  with  new  charac- 
ters. He  made  warm  friends;  the  reciprocal  affection 


DR.   STEPHENSOX. 

expanded  his  nature,  called  into  play  its  great,  unself- 
ish tenderness.  He  also  experienced  coldness,  selfish- 
ness, and  ingratitude.  These  had,  of  course,  their 
inevitable  result  of  tending  to  weaken  his  faith  in 
human  nature :  but  so  great  was  his  heart,  so  bound- 
less his  faith  in  his  fellow  men,  naturally,  that,  all 
through  his  life,  he  was  constantly  pinning  his  faith  to 
others,  but,  eventually,  to  be  deceived  and  wounded. 

When,  after  receiving  his  diploma,  he  returned  to  his 
father's  house,  during  the  period  of  recuperation  he 
had  time  to  reflect,  to  assimilate  the  impressions  he  had 
received.  He  communed  with  great  minds  in  literature. 
The  grand  thoughts  of  that  myriad-minded  bard,  Wil- 
liam Shakespeare,  were  incorporated  into  his  being. 
When  he  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine,  new  ex- 
periences crowded  upon  him.  The  physician  has  an 
excellent  opportunity  to  observe  human  nature  in  its 
various  phases.  He  came  in  contact  with,  and  received 
impressions  from,  various  characters,  realizing  both 
the  bitterness  and  sweetness  of  human  nature. 

On  the  30th  of  March,  1855,  the  marriage  of  Dr. 
Stephenson  to  Miss  Barbara  B.  Moore  was  celebrated 
at  Springfield,  111.  Miss  Moore  was  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky. She  had  emigrated  to  Springfield,  111.,  with  her 
father,  in  1853.  Concerning  the  domestic  relations  of 
my  father,  I  can  truly  say  that  he  was  a  most  affec- 
tionate and  exemplary  husband  and  father.  Such  was 
his  character,  and  so  uniform  his  tenderness  towards 
his  family,  that  words  fail  me  to  express  the  affectionr 
akin  to  worship,  with  which  his  children  regarded  him, 
and  still  regard  his  memory. 

Soon  after  his  marriage,  Dr.  Stephenson  was  urgently 
solicited  by  the  trustees  and  faculty  of  the  prospective 


14  A  MEMOIR  OF 

Iowa  Medical  College  to  take  a  professorship  in  that 
institution.  He  agreed  to  do  so,  and  during  the  win- 
ters of  1855  and  '56,  '56  and  '57,  he  lectured  there  on 
General,  Special,  and  Surgical  Anatomy.  The  college 
was  located  at  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  was  designed  by  its 
founders  to  be  the  chief  institution  of  its  kind  in  the 
West.  They  were  very  enthusiastic  in  regard  to  it, 
and  students  were  solicited  and  obtained  from  the 
neighboring  States,  especially  the  adjacent  ones  of 
Missouri  and  Illinois.  Dr.  Stephenson  entered  into  the 
duties  of  his  office  with  characteristic  enthusiasm.  He 
labored  faithfully  and  untiringly  in  lecture  and  dissect- 
ing room,  and  during  vacation  canvassed  the  State  of 
Illinois  for  students.  He  intended  to  return  to  Keokuk 
in  the  fall  of  1857  to  deliver  another  course  of  lectures, 
but  was  prevented,  much  to  his  disappointment,  by 
sickness  in  his  family.  His  relations  with  the  faculty 
of  Iowa  Medical  College  were  exceptionally  pleasant, 
and,  after  his  active  connection  with  the  institution 
was  severed,  out  of  respect  to  him,  personally,  and 
gratitude  for  his  services,  the  trustees  continued  to 
publish  his  name  in  connection  with  the  institution. 

Dr.  Stephenson  was,  doubtless,  always  interested  in 
politics,  but  the  beginning  of  Taylor  and  Fillmore's 
administration  was,  probably,  the  time  from  which 
may  be  dated  the  commencement  of  that  enthusiastic, 
constant,  and  active  interest  which  characterized  his 
later  years.  At  that  time,  minds  both  north  and  south 
of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  were  being  powerfully  agi- 
tated by  the  slavery  question;  and,  from  the  beginning 
of  this  administration  to  the  civil  war,  slavery  was 
the  all-absorbing  topic.  Such  orators  as  Wendell  Phil- 
lips and  such  writers  as  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  were 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  15 

enough  to  fire  the  blood  of  the  most  stolid  and  unim- 
pulsive  of  men.  What,  then,  must  have  been  their 
effect  on  the  generous,  unselfish,  and  just  nature  of 
Dr.  Stepheuson?  He  loathed,  as  .such  a  nature  as  his 
must  ever  loathe,  slavery,  that  foul  blot,  that  plague 
worse  than  leprosy,  since  it  destroys  souls,  as  well  as 
bodies,  wherever  it  exists. 

Throughout  Pierce's  administration  the  slavery 
versus  anti-slavery  controversy  grew  hotter  and  hot- 
ter. At  length,  new  party  lines  were  drawn,  and  those 
opposed  to  the  extention  of  slavery  mustered  their 
forces  to  the  polls  under  the  name  of  Republicans. 
They,  however,  were  defeated  by  the  democrats,  and 
James  Buchanan  was  elected. 

By  the  time  Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated,  political 
feeling  had  reached  a  very  high  pitch,  indeed.  Dr. 
Stephenson  took  enthusiastic  interest  in  this  cam- 
paign, and  his  admiration  for  "Honest  Old  Abe"  was 
unbounded. 

Lincoln  is  elected ;  the  South  secedes  and  forms  its 
separate  government.  After  the  inauguration  of  the 
new  president  comes  the  news  of  the  firing  on  Fort 
Sumter. 

The  Omnibus  Bill,  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  with 
Douglas'  advocacy  of  "Squatter-Sovereignty,"  the 
Dred  Scott  Decision,  John  Brown's  Raid,  the  Secession 
of  the  Southern  States,  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  in 
turn,  had  agitated  the  people  until  they  were  wrought 
up  to  white  heat,  and  the  North  was  made  ready  for 
that  wonderful  response  it  made  to  President  Lincoln's 
call  for  volunteers,  when  the  requisition  for  seventy- 
five  thousand  troops  was  responded  to  by  hundreds 
•of  thousands. 


16  A  MEMOIR  OF 


PART  II. 


'May  all  our  boys  who  fall  be  found 
Where  men  lie  thickest  at  the  front, 
Where  brave  hearts  bore  the  battle's  brunt, 
Contesting  every  inch  of  ground; 
Though  well  we  know  dead  men  to  be 
But  broken  tools  that  Freedom  flings 
Aside,  alas!  as  useless  things, 
In  carving  out  her  destiny." 

Union  men  of  both  political  parties  hastened  to  re- 
spond to  the  president's  call  for  troops. 

Dr.  Stephenson  was  among  the  first  to  offer  his 
services,  and  enlisted  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois.  He  was 
appointed  surgeon  of  the  14th  Illinois  Infantry  Volun- 
teers, Col.  John  M.  Palmer  commanding  the  regiment. 
His  -regiment  remained  at  Camp  Duncan,  Jacksonville, 
until  the  16th  of  June,  1861,  when  it  started  for 
Quiney.  In  writing  this  part  of  the  biography,  I  shall 
make  frequent  extracts  from  a  history  of  his  regiment, 
written  by  my  father  for  the  Rev.  Dr.  Eddy's  history 
of  some  kind. 

"Encamped  north  of  the  city  (Quiney)  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  same  day  (June  16th);  called  (this  place) 
Camp  Wood.  The  day  we  left  Camp  Duncan  we  had 
a  full  regiment,  every  company  being  to  the  maximum, 
1,010  enlisted  men,  39  commissioned  officers,  1,049  in 
all.  We  remained  in  Camp  Wood  until  the  night  of 
the  4th  of  July,  when  a  report  came  that  Union  men 
were  being  murdered  at  Canton,  Missouri.  Adj.  Gen, 
Morton  ordered  us  there  in  great  haste. 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  17 

"We  landed  at  Canton  on  the  night  of  the  4th,  or 
rather,  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  July,  formed  line  of 
battle  and  double-quicked  up  through  the  town  and 
took  it  in  fine  style,  not  finding  an  enemy  in  sight. 
Col.  Palmer  marched  his  men  to  the  rear  of  the  town 
and  encamped.  We  remained  there  until  the  8th,  when 
we  received  word  that  Col.  Smith  of  the  16th  was  sur- 
rounded at  Monroe  Station,  and  about  to  be  captured 
by  the  rebel  Tom  Harris.  Lieut.  Col.  Johnson  had 
gone  out  some  distance  in  the  country,  with  five  com- 
panies, in  search  of  Mart.  Green.  He  ran  across  some 
of  them  and  fired  into  them  and  saw  some  evidence 
that  these  shots  had  taken  effect.  At  this  point,  a 
courier  met  him,  ordering  him  back  to  Canton,  and 
as  soon  as  he  returned  we  all  embarked  on  the  steamer 
Black  Hawk,  and  went  to  the  relief  of  Col.  Smith. 
Got  to  Hannibal,  then  took  rail  and  went  out.  Found 
Smith  in  no  danger,  no  enemy  in  sight.  He  had  been 
attacked  by  the  enemy  with  a  six-pound  bomb-piece  at 
very  long  range,  and  had  made  several  holes  through 
the  female  college  in  which  they  were  encamped." 

From  this  place  they  were  ordered  to  several  others 
in  turn,  and  finally  stationed  to  guard  the  North  Mis- 
souri Railroad,  or  a  portion  of  it,  for  a  time.  While 
the  regiment  was  at  Holla,  Mo.,  about  the  middle  of 
September,  Dr.  Stephenson  left  it,  Dr.  G.  T.  Allen  being 
appointed  surgeon  in  his  place.  His  leaving  the  regi- 
ment at  this  time  was  not  the  result  either  of  any 
cooling  of  his  loyalty,  or  any  dereliction  in  the  per- 
formance of  duty,  as  the  following  testimonial,  gotten 
up  by  the  officers  of  his  regiment,  and  signed  by 
twenty-eight  names,  will  show: 

-2 


18  A  MEMOIR  OF 

"We,  the  undersigned  officers  of  the  14th  Regiment, 
Illinois  Volunteers,  feeling  it  to  be  our  duty  in  order  to 
do  justice  to  our  former  surgeon,  Dr.  B.  F.  Stephen- 
son,  of  Menard  County,  Illinois,  to  state  that  his  dis- 
charge from  service  in  this  regiment  is  not  because  of 
a  want  of  professional  skill,  or  from  any  act  of  his  in 
his  private  relations,  but,  on  the  contrary,  his  conduct 
as  a  gentleman  has  been  such  as  no  man  could  take 
exception  to,  and  that  we  believe  he  is  excelled  by  few 
in  his  profession,  having  had  charge  of  our  regiment 
for  near  four  months,  and  not  having  lost  a  single 
man  under  his  immediate  treatment  since  his  connec- 
tion with  the  regiment,  and  having  treated  in  hospital 
and  otherwise  some  six  or  seven  hundred  cases  of  dis- 
ease, and  performed  sundry  operations  in  surgery; 
and  that  we,  together  with  our  entire  command,  are 
entirely  satisfied  with  him  in  every  particular,  and  that 
we  fear,  and  some  of  us  have  good  reason  to  know, 
that  his  discharge  has  been  the*  result  of  a  wicked 
combination,  brought  about  by  persons  having  a  per- 
sonal animosity  against  him,  outside  of  the  regiment." 

They  were  first  brigaded  and  divisioned  at  Tipton, 
Mo.,  before  the  Springfield  campaign.  Palmer  was  pro- 
moted to  command  the  brigade. 

The  regiment  was  at  Fort  Donelson  when  Dr.  Ste- 
phenson  rejoined  it,  having  been  reappointed  about 
February,  1862.  He  arrived,  "owing  to  delay  occa- 
sioned by  lack  of  transportation,  just  as  the  garrison 
surrendered."  His  narrative  goes  on  to  say:  "We  re- 
mained here  some  time ;  men  very  unhealthy,  owing  to 
eating  mortified  secesh  bacon  captured  there.  We  were 
then  brigaded  and  divisioned.  Our  division  was  com- 
posed of  two  brigades,  the  first  brigade  comprising  the 
41st  Illinois,  3d  Iowa,  32d  and  28th  Illinois,  com- 


DR.    STEPHENSON.  19 

manded  by  Brig.  Gen.  J.  G.  Laumen,  of  Iowa.  The 
second  brigade,  the  14th.  15th  and  46th  Illinois  and 
25th  Indiana,  commanded  by  Col.  J.  C.  Yeatch,  of 
Indiana." 

They  were  now  a  portion  of  the  Army  of  the  Ten- 
nessee, under  Grant,  and  having  a  definite  object  in 
view.  They  marched  from  Fort  Donelson  to  Fort 
Henry.  There  they  embarked  in  a  fleet  of  118  trans- 
ports, headed  by  the  gunboats  Lexington  and  Tyler. 
They  ascended  the  river  to  Savannah,  Tenn.,  remained 
Inhere  ten  days,  then  went  up  to  Pittsburgh  Landing. 
Here  they  disembarked  and  camped  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river,  in  open  woods,  on  what  has  since  become 
the  famous  battle-ground  of  Shiloh,  or  Pittsburgh 
Landing.  I  quote  again  from  my  father: 

aThis  ground  is  covered  with  large  oak  trees,  with 
very  little  undergrowth;  in  some  places,  however,  there 
is  considerable.  Above  the  landing,  where  our  left 
rested  on  the  top  of  a  ridge,  the  large  trees  were  not 
so  plenty,  and  for  probably  half  a  mile  or  more  it  was 
thickly  studded  with  undergrowth;  this  is  the  place  at 
which  the  enemy  undertook  to  turn  our  left  and  cut 
us  off  from  the  river,  and  some  idea  may  be  formed 
of  the  desperation  of  the  engagement,  when  I  tell  you 
that  I  examined  this  part  of  the  line  after  the  battle 
was  over,  and  the  entire  undergrowth  was  cut  off  with 
bullets  at  an  even  height  of  about  four  or  five  feet; 
hardly  a  single  twig  was  left  standing,  not  one  that 
had  not  been  touched  with  a  ball.  I,  in  company  with 
Capt.  J.  P.  Walker,  of  the  17th  Illinois  Infantry,  after- 
wards Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  85th  Illinois  Infantry, 
counted  the  balls  in  two  large  oak  trees,  of  about  an 
average  size  and  having  about  an  average  number  of 
'wounds.'  We  counted  eighty-five  musket  balls  in  one 


20  A    MEMOIR    OF 

and  eighty-seven  in  the  other.  One  had  two  cannon 
balls  and  the  other  three.  I  see  I  am  ahead  of  my 
story,  as  well  as  running  off  on  a  side  track. 

"We  remained  here  until  the  1st  of  April;  regiment 
not  in  good  health,  owing  to  exposure  at  Fort  Donel- 
son  and  eating  some  mortified  bacon  there  captured 
from  the  rebels. 

"On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  April  some  slight  skir- 
mishing occurred;  we  were  called  out  in  line  of  battle. 
After  remaining  perhaps  an  hour,  we  were  ordered 
back  to  quarters.  On  the  5th,  Gen.  Grant  reviewed 
the  troops  in  an  old  field.  It  was  a  mild,  sunshiny 
day,  such  as  we  have  here  in  May,  and  we  returned 
to  camp  feeling  pleasant  and  comfortable.  The  morn- 
ing of  the  6th  was  more  beautiful  still;  there  was  a 
soft,  balmy,  hazy  atmosphere;  the  sun  came  up  broad 
and  full,  and  shone  through  the  tree-tops,  casting  long 
shadows  on  the  ground  and  across  our  white  tents. 
Everything  looked  beautiful  when  I  got  up  to  break- 
fast. I  could  see  the  men  sitting  down  by  their  camp- 
fires,  cleaning  and  scouring  up  their  guns.  Many  of 
them  had  them  'unbreached,'  taken  all  to  pieces,  in 
order  to  clean  them  more  easily  and  effectually;  all 
looked  happy  and  quiet.  Poor  fellows!  it  makes  my 
heart  sick  to  think  how  soon  they  passed  in  review 
before  the  final  Judge!  I  had  just  sat  down  to  my 
breakfast,  and  had  barely  commenced  eating,  when 
the  battle  opened  like  a  clap  of  thunder  a  hundred 
times  multiplied,  and  continued  an  indefinite  length  of 
time.  That  terrific  roar  still  sounds  in  my  ears.  *  * 

"In  a  moment,  apparently,  every  gun  was  put 
together;  each  man,  with  the  'harness  of  war'  on, 
was  fast  swinging  into  line;  the  column  was  immedi- 


DR.    STEPHENSON.  21 

ately  formed,  and  we  commenced  our  march  to  the 
front.  Immediately  came  the  'flying  mass;'  the  hills 
were  covered  with  men,  on  horse  and  on  foot,  flying 
at  full  speed  for  the  Tennessee  .river.  Many  of  them 
our  officers  tried  to  stop,  but  a  stone  wall  twenty  feet 
high  and  ten  feet  thick  would  have  been  no  hindrance. 
All  discouraged  our  men  with  this  kind  of  remark, 
'Our  command  is  cut  all  to  pieces!'  'You  go  on,  if 
you  like;  you'll  catch  h— 1,  directly.'  This  is  very  hard 
for  any  troops  to  stand.  Then  came  the  wounded,  on 
litters,  in  ambulances,  and  supported  by  men  walking 
on  foot,  holding  up  a  broken  arm.  etc.  This  is  the 
hardest  sight  for  soldiers.  I  could  see  the  men  look 
at  each  other  anxiously;  some  of  them  turned  very 
pale.  Knowing  they  had  great  confidence  in  me,  I  be- 
gan to  rally  them  and  joke  them;  told  them  I  was 
going  into  action  with  them  (which  I  did).  Then  the 
chaplain,  Rev.  W.  J.  Rutledge,  that  noble,  courageous 
and  godly  man,  whom  every  soldier  who  knew  him 
loves  and  reveres,  came  to.  the  rescue,  and  cheered 
them;  told  them  he  would  stand  by  their  side,  and 
most  nobly  and  gallantly  did  he  fulfill  his  promises, 
often  carrying  men  to  me  in  his  arms,  on  his  back, 
and  any  way;  and  once,  in  trying  to  get  a  poor  boy 
off  the  field,  my  horse,  on  which  he  rode,  was  shot, 
and  he  had  to  get  down  and  carry  the  man  on  his 
shoulder. 

"His  words  seemed  to  inspire  the  men  with  new  life, 
and  they  marched  boldly  up  to  the  enemy.  The  enemy 
was  coming  with  but  little  resistance.  They  came  up 
to  within  about  seventy  yards  of  our  line  before  we 
discovered  who  they  were.  They  had  a  regiment  of 
Louisiana  Zouaves  in  front,  with  blue  uniforms,  very 
similar  to  our  own,  and  they  carried  the  'Stars  and 


22  A  MEMOIR  OF 

Stripes'  in  front.  When  they  got  within  about  sev- 
enty yards,  -the  Butternuts  were  discovered,  and  that 
eagle-eyed  soldier,  Gen.  Hurlbut,  ordered  the  men  to 
fire,  which  they  did  with  an  excellent  aim.  Had  it 
not  been  for  this  timely  fire,  they  would  have  mur- 
dered almost  all  of  us;  but  this  thinned  their  ranks 
and  rendered  their  aim  unsteady.  Yet  their  fire  was 
terrific.  They  immediately  threw  down  the  Union  flag 
and  hoisted  their  own  rag;  then  there  was  a  fight. 
As  well  as  I  could  judge,  we  lost  about  thirty  or  forty 
killed,  and  about  one  hundred  and  forty  wounded,  in 
less  than  twenty  minutes. 

"By  this  time  I  had  gotten  fairly  to  work.  I  lost 
sight  of  the  immediate  action  of  the  regiment  until  the 
next  day;  but  it  continued  in  action  all  day,  in  the 
midst  of  the  engagement,  fighting  as  well  as  any  other 
regiment,  and  no  better;  for  men  all  fight  alike;  and 
all  men  will  fight  (there  are  a  few  exceptions)  just. as 
long  as  their  officers  stay  with  them ;  and  when  you 
hear  of  a  regiment  or  company  behaving  badly,  set  it 
down  its  officers  have  set  the  example.  Again,  it  is 
too  common  a  practice  with  officers  to  extol  their 
own  commands  and  detract  from  others.  * 

"That  night  after  the  battle  closed,  which  wras  after 
dark,  the  command  had  been  driven  back  until  the  left 
rested  at  the  steamboat  landing.  Right  here  let  me 
digress  and  correct  a  very  common  error  fallen  into 
by  almost  all  who  have  described  that  battle.  It  is 
generally  described  in  this  way, — that  the  rebels  drove 
us  back  to  the  river,  where  we  hardly  had  ground  to 
stand  on,  that  is,  our  whole  line  driven  in.  Nothing 
is  more  fallacious.  At  this  point  the  river  runs  almost 
due  north;  our  line  was  formed  exactly  at  right  angles 
with  the  river,  or  east  and  west;  our  left  resting  on 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  23 

the  river  bank,  our  right  extending  out  several  miles, 
and  protected  on  the  right  by  a  little  creek.  Now  we 
fell  back  in  regular  order,  moving  the  whole  line  to- 
gether; that  is.  our  second  line.  Our  front  line,  com- 
manded by  two  as  brave  officers  as  ever  drew  a  sword, 
was  surprised  and  broken  up.  I  don't  care  what  any 
body  says  to  the  contrary,  Prentiss  fought  well  and 
hard,  perhaps  rashly  and  improperly,  and  so  did  Sher- 
man; but  what  was  saved  of  their  line  fell  back  to 
ours,  the  second,  and  fought  like  devils.  As  I  said,  at 
night  our  left  rested  at  the  landing,  and  extended  di- 
rectly west,  as  it  did  in  the  morning.  The  enemy  under- 
took to  turn  our  left  from  the  river,  but  failed.  The 
place  I  mentioned,  where  the  underbrush  was  so  ter- 
ribly cut,  is  the  ground  on  which  this  attempt  was 
made,  and  shows  how  determined  was  the  attack ;  and 
the  immense  piles  of  dead  men  show  how  desperate 
was  the  resistance. 

"Soon  after  dark,  it  commenced  raining;  the  weather 
changed ;  a  cold  disagreeable  north  wind  sprang  up, 
and  the  poor  men,  after  fighting  all  day,  many  of  them 
without  breakfast,  were  compelled  to  lie  down  in  the 
rain,  with  gun  in  hand,  and  cartridge  box  on,  without 
anything  to  eat,  and,  in  fact,  too  tired  to  eat  if  they 
had  had  any  food.  And  yet  they  slept  soundly  and 
apparently  sweetly,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it 
rained  in  torrents. 

"Late  in.  the  afternoon,  Gen.  Wilson  came  up  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river  with  15,000  men,  and  they  suc- 
ceeded in  crossing  over  by  night,  and,  by  Monday 
morning,  about  30,000  of  Gen.  Buell's  command  had 
crossed.  Our  men  were  so  miserably  cut  up  and  worn 
out,  that  they  were  allowed  to  get  a  little  to  eat,  while 


24  A    MEMOIR   OF 

Buell's    men    brought    on   the   engagement,  with  our 
broken  ranks  to  support  them. 

"Buell  opened  the  battle  in  most  beautiful  style,  and 
by  nine  o'clock  our  men  were  refreshed  a  little  and 
went  again  eagerly  into  the  fight.  If  there  is  any 
beauty  in  a  terrible  battle,  in  the  wholesale  slaughter 
of  our  fellow  creatures,  this  beauty  was  manifest  in 
Monday's  battle.  Everything  was  conducted  with  sys- 
tem ;  every  maneuver  was  performed  with  military 
precision.  Whereas,  on  Sunday,  all  was  disorder  and 
confusion,  and  hard,  bull-dog  fighting,  on  Monday, 
everything  moved  like  clock  work. 

"I  could  tell  but  little  difference  in  the  position  of  the 
two  great  contending  armies  until  after  ten  o'clock, 
when  I  could  see  the  enemy  giving  ground.  They  con- 
tinued falling  back  until  about  four  o'clock  P.  M., 
when  it  became  a  complete  rout;  and,  at  dark,  Gen. 
Grant  called  off  the  troops.  Thus  ended  the  famous 
battle  of  Shiloh." 

This  was  the  battle  as  it  appeared  to  Dr.  Stephen- 
son,  who  thought  he  saw  as  much  of  it  as  "any  one 
man."  He  was  six  times  inside  the  enemy's  lines  on 
Sunday,  and,  while  he  "tried  to  do  his  duty,  he  also 
tried  to  see  all  he  could."  He  was  amused  at,  and  dis- 
gusted with,  many  of  the  accounts  of  this  great  battle 
published  soon  after  its  occurrence.  They  were  contra- 
dictory and  inconsistent.  He  mentions  a  certain  news- 
paper correspondent  who,  in  his  diagram  of  this  battle, 
"placed  himself  exactly  mid  way  between  two  contending 
batteries,  at  close  range,  and  playing  on  each  other 
with  all  the  energy  of  good  soldiers." 

I  have  inserted  this  description  of  the  battle  of  Shi- 
loh, partly  because  to  me  it  seemed  interesting,  partly 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  25 

because  it  was  written  by  an  eye-witness  and  may  differ, 
in  some  particulars,  from  the  descriptions  of  other  eye- 
witnesses, and  partly  because  it  seems  to  me  to  exhibit 
the  character  of  its  writer.  Enthusiastic  in  his  admira- 
tion of  excellence  in  his  particular  friends  or  heroes, 
yet,  withal,  anxious  that  justice  should  be  meted  to 
everyone  according  to  his  deserts. 

Dr.  Stephenson  won  .golden  opinions  for  himself  in 
this  battle.  It  is  possible  for  a  surgeon  to  show  him- 
self as  brave  as  the  bravest;  and,  while  he  in  his  own 
account  has  been  modest  in  mentioning  his  own  deeds, 
spending  his  enthusiasm  on  his  friends,  others  have 
left  evidence  that  their  surgeon  was  not  behind  the 
rest  in  valor.  In  a  document  addressed  to  Gen.  Beloit, 
and  recommending  Surgeon  Stephenson  for  a  position 
in  the  projected  Ranger  Service,  I  find  the  following: 

"In  the  bloody  conflicts  of  Shiloh^and  Hatchee,  he 
faithfully  and  persistently  prosecuted  his  duties,  despite 
of  shot  and  shell  and  charging  squadrons  round  him." 

For  meritorious  services  in  this  battle,  (TOY^.  Yates 
conferred  on  Dr.  Stephenson  the  rank  of  Major.  Some- 
where near  this  time,  I  think  before  the  battle,  he  was 
appointed  Brigade  Surgeon. 

During,  and  for  some  time  after,  such  hard-fought 
battles,  the  regimental  surgeons  were  kept  very  busy, 
none  more  so,  probably,  than  Dr.  Stephenson.  A  cer- 
tain soldier  was  wounded  so  severely  that  one  of  his 
limbs  would  have  to  be  amputated.  His  regimental 
surgeon  was  so  busy  that  he  could  not  immediately 
attend  to  him,  and  the  case  was  urgent.  His  life  was 
in  danger.  A  friend  left  his  suffering  comrade  for  a 
time,  and  went  in  search  of  a  surgeon.  He  came  upon 
Dr.  Stephenson  and  proffered  his  request.  The  wounded 


A  MEMOIR  OF 

man  was  from  another  State  and  had  not  been  at  air 
associated  with  Dr.  Stephenson;  nevertheless,  he  was 
a  human  being  in  distress  and  must  be  succored.  The 
doctor  readily  consented  to  go,  and  was  led  away  to 
our  wounded  soldier.  When  the  latter  saw  his  friend 
approach  with  the  surgeon  in  tow,  he  was  a  little 
startled.  A  tall,  broad-shouldered  man,  disheveled, 
coat  off,  sleeves  rolled  up  to  the  elbows,  grimy  with 
battle-smoke,  and  bedaubed  with  blood  stains.  "My 
God,"  thought  the  poor  fellow,  "arn  I  to  be  butchered 
in  cold  blood  by  that  great  big  butcher?"  He  soon 
found  out,  however,  that  this  new  friend  was  not  so 
sanguinary  as  he  looked.  Although  worn  out  with 
hard  work,  the  surgeon  set  to  work  with  a  will;  skill- 
fully and  speedily  amputated  the  limb,  and,  with  the 
tenderness  of  a  woman  united  to  the  skill  of  the  prac- 
ticed surgeon,  soon  fixed  the  poor  fellow  up.  He  con- 
tinued to  visit  this  soldier  and  dress  his  wound,  regu- 
larly, until  he  was  recovered,  notwithstanding  his  own 
regular  duties.  Years  after,  this  soldier  was  riding  in  a 
rail  way-:  carriage  with  a  certain  gentleman  from  Illinois. 
Learning  that  his  traveling  companion  was  an  Illi- 
noisan,  the  old  soldier  asked  him  if  he  knew  Dr. 
Stephenson.  "All  Illinoisans  certainly  ought  to  know 
Dr.  Stephenson,"  exclaimed  the  enthusiastically  grate- 
ful old  soldier.  It  happened  that  the  gentleman  was 
an  old  friend  of  the  doctor.  On  learning  this,  the 
veteran  told  the  above  story. 

Living  in  the  midst  of  the  comforts  which  a  peaceful 
and  prosperous  nation  provides  for  even  its  humblest 
citizens,  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  the  hardships 
and  privations  of  soldiers  engaged  in  active  service 
during  war  time.  The  picture  of  the  sufferings  endured 
by  warriors  is  presented  too  seldom  to  the  peaceful 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  2T 

public;  but,  now  and  then,  we  are  startled  by  the  vivid 
coloring  of  some  battle  picture  into  a  faint  idea  that 
we  do  owe  something  to  the  veterans  who  wore  the 
old  blue,  and,  by  their  privations,  endured  uncom- 
plainingly and  often  enlivened  by  jest,  have  paved  the 
way  for  our  comfortable  prosperity. 

Major  John  F.  Nolte,  of  the  14th,  was  a  bosom  friend 
of  Dr.  Stephenson.  He  was  for  some  time  in  command 
of  the  regiment,  and  was  intimately  associated  with 
the  doctor  in  work,  as  well  as  socially.  Their  friend- 
ship was  so  close  that  either  would  have  sacrificed  life 
or  limb  for  the  other. 

After  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  many  of  the  soldiers' 
friends  from  the  north  came  to  visit  the  army,  and 
see  the  battle-field.  A  certain  editor  came  to  visit 
Major  Nolte  at  this  time,  and  prolonged  his  stay 
several  marches  on  to  Corinth.  One  of  those  little  in- 
cidents occurred  which  are  so  distressing  to  the  civilian 
but  which  the  soldier  learns  to  take  as  a  mere  matter 
of  course.  It  commenced  raining,  and  it  rained  with 
a  will,  steadily  and  without  "letting  up."  They  had 
to  march  all  one  day  through  the  rain.  The  baggage 
team  stuck  in  the  mud,  as  baggage  teams  unfortu- 
nately have  a  knack  of  doing,  leaving  the  soldiers  with- 
out tents,  provisions,  or  bedding.  As  night  came  ony 
the  editor  anxiously  observed  that  there  was  no  sign 
of  bedding  or  tents. 

"I'd  like  to  know  how  in  thunder  I'm  going  to  sleep 
to-night,  Major,"  he  demanded. 

"Do  not  worry,  my  friend,"  said  the  major,  sooth- 
ingly, "I  will  provide.  Just  come  around  to  my  fire 
when  you  are  ready  to  retire." 


A  MEMOIR   OF 

When  Mr.  Editor  came  around,  with  pleasant  visions 
of  a  comfortable  bed,  provided  by  Providence  in  the 
shape  of  Major  Nolte,  how  and  whence  he  did  not 
know,  he  saw  nothing  but  two  broad,  flat  fence-rails, 
laid  side  by  side  where  the  flickering  fire  light  fell  upon 
them,  while  a  third  rail  was  held  in  reserve.  To  his 
inquiring  look  the  Major  pointed  out  the  two  fence- 
rails,  and  politely  invited  him  to  lie  down  on  this  rustic 
contrivance  and  use  the  third  rail  for  cover.  In  the 
morning  the  Major's  friend  struck  out  for  the  north, 
fully  satisfied  with  his  experience  of  the  hardships  of 
a  soldier's  life. 

The  14th  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Corinth  and  vari- 
ous other  engagements  in  that  vicinity.  They  arrived 
at  Memphis  some  time  after  the  capture  of  that  city. 
I  quote  again  from  the  history  of  the  regiment: 

"We  encamped  just  below  the  city,  on  the  bank  of 
the  Mississippi.  W^hen  we  once  more  got  in  sight  of 
the  'Father  of  Waters,'  rolling  down  from  the  free 
north  in  all  its  might  and  grandeur,  the  thought  of 
home  was  strong,  and  the  river  seemed  to  invite  us 
to  take  passage  on  its  broad  bosom,  and  to  say  to 
us  'I  can  now  carry  you  to  your  happy  homes,'  and 
the  boys  gave  three  rousing  cheers  for  the  Mississippi." 

Afterwards  the  troops  were  stationed  at  Bolivar, 
Tenn.  While  here,  a  certain  young  surgeon  who  had 
been  sent  out  to  assist  Dr.  Stephenson  in  his  charge  of 
the  14tha  for,  although  brigade  surgeon,  he  still  looked 
specially  after  his  comrades  of  the  14th,  arrived.  The 
next  morning  Dr.  Stephenson  gave  the  new  assistant 
his  hospital  book  and  told  him  to  go  into  the  hospital 
tent  and  see  what  the  men  wanted.  The  young  M.  D. 
seemed  to  be  utterly  at  sea  as  to  what  was  required, 


DR.    STEPHENSON.  29 

and  instead  of  feeling  the  pulses  of  the  sick  soldiers 
and  asking  their  symptoms,  he  simply  stared  at  the 
first  man  he  came  across,  Mr.  Samuel  Walker,  with  a 
broad  grin  on  his  face.  Mr.  Walker,  of  course,  stared 
back  at  him,  and  recognized  the  book  although  he 
knew  nothing  of  the  assistant. 

'kWhat  are  you  doing  with  that  book?"  he  demanded. 
The  budding  army  surgeon  opened  the  "book,  took  out 
his  pen,  and  put  the  stereotyped  inquiry,  "What  do  you 
want?"  "What  do  I  want?"  repeated  Mr.  Walker, 
uYes,  what  do  you  want?"  "I  want  my  breakfast." 
The  doctor  carefully  noted  this  desire  in  his  book  and 
passed  to  the  next. 

By  this  time  the  other  boys  had  "caught  on."  One 
communicated  his  desire  for  a  wife,  another,  for  a  dis- 
charge, still  another  wanted  his  mother.  Some  wanted 
to  go  to  Europe,  others  to  China.  The  majority,  how- 
ever, wanted  a  furlough  home. 

With  commendable  industry,  the  ambitious  M.  D. 
labored  with  the  men,  accumulating  and  recording  this 
kind  of  information,  from  early  in  the  morning  until 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon !  Uncommonly  slow  pen- 
man that!  A  delegation  of  the  invalids  called  on  Dr. 
Stephenson  that  evening,  and  their  spokesman  in- 
quired,—"Doctor,  what  lunatic  is  carrying  the  hospital 
book  about  and  interviewing  the  boys?"  The  doctor 
laughed  heartily,  saying, — "Boys,  that  fellow  will  know 
a  great  deal  more  when  the  war  is  over  than  he  does 
no\v." 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Walker  for  this  anecdote. 

On  the  fifth  of  October,  as  the  division  commanded 
by  Gen.  Hurlbut,  that  of  which  the  14th  was  a  part, 
was  on  its  way  to  Corinth  to  reinforce  Gen.  Rosecrans, 


30  A   MEMOIR  OF 

it  had  an  engagement  with  the  rebel  forces  at  the  Big 
Hatchee  river.  This  was  on  the  day  after  the  principal 
engagement  at  Corinth,  and  while  Rosecrans  was  pursu- 
ing the  Confederates,  and  was  one  of  the  after-incidents. 
It  was  a  hard-fought  battle,  in  which  the  Union  forces 
gained  the  victory  at  a  high  price.  In  his  report  of 
this  battle,  Brig.  Gen.  James  C.  Veatch  says: 

"Major  Stephenson,  Senior  Surgeon  of  the  Brigade, 
devoted  himself  to  the  relief  of' the  wounded,  and  his 
skill,  energy,  and  devotion  to  duty  were  seen  and  felt 
by  my  whole  command." 

After  this  engagement  the  troops  returned  to  Boli- 
var, and  remained  there  for  some  time, 

Before  the  troops  left  Bolivar,  the  Illinois  State  offi- 
cers came  down  to  visit  them,  Gov.  Yates,  Auditor 
Dubois,  familiarly  known  as  "Uncle  Jesse,"  and  others. 
Of  course  they  must  review  the  troops.  Gen.  Hurlbut, 
the  division  commander,  mounted  Gov.  Yates  and 
"Uncle  Jesse,"  and  they  rode  slowly  along  the  line. 
But  when  they  turned  to  come  back  by  the  rear  Gen. 
Hurlbut,  who  was  a  dashing  rider,  put  his  horse  to 
its  best  speed.  His  staff,  of  course,  followed  his  ex- 
ample. Judge  Dubois,  who  was  a  very  poor  rider,  after 
an  ineffectual  attempt  to  overtake  the  others,  reined 
in  where  Dr.  Stephenson  and  Major  Nolte  were  stand- 
ing in  line,  and  exclaimed : 

"Doc.,  just  look  at  the  -  -  fools!  Hope  they  will 
break  their  necks.  I  didn't  come  here  to  have  mine 
broken." 

The  14th  was  in  the  front  of  the  column  and  under 
the  immediate  command  of  Grant,  when  he  moved 
down  the  railroad  to  attack  Vicksbura;  in  the  rear, 
while  Sherman  was  to  attack  from  Chickasaw  Bayou. 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  31 

After  this,  they  guarded  the  railroad  communications 
for  Grant's  army,  and,  finally,  were  sent  down  to  take 
part  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg. 

During  the  winters  in  camp,  Dr.  Stephenson  im- 
proved the  time  and  varied  the  monotony  of  camp 
life  by  giving  lectures  and  demonstrations  in  anato- 
my. It  was  easy  to  obtain  subjects,  and  his  hospital 
help  received  instructions  which  were  doubtless  of  in- 
estimable value  to  them.  Nearly  all  of  them  after- 
wards became  practicing  physicians. 

Chaplain  Rutledge  was  connected  with  Dr.  Stephen- 
son  in  the  hospital  work,  helping  him  care  for  the 
wounded  soldiers,  and  George  Goldsmith  was  cook. 
The  chaplain  and  Goldsmith  gained  the  reputation  of 
being  excellent  foragers.  Chickens  had  to  roost  very 
high  indeed,  if  the  parson  and  Goldsmith  did  not  get 
them  into  the  hospital  pot,  according  to  Major  Nolte. 
The  same  gentleman  assures  me  that  the  chaplain  be- 
came exceedingly  expert  in  providing  for  his  mess,  so 
much  so  that  one  evening  he  came  in  with  one  side  of 
a  sheep,  and  Dr.  Stephenson  remarked  that  the  chap- 
lain had  gotten  so  expert  that  he  could  slaughter  one 
side  of  a  sheep  and  leave  the  other  side  grazing. 

I  am  indebted,  also,  to  Major  Nolte,  for  the  follow- 
ing hospital  incident: 

Gen.  McPherson  had  his  headquarters  at  a  certain 
farmhouse.  The  family  had  agreed  to  provide  meals 
for  the  General  and  staff.  Goldsmith,  on  a  foraging 
expedition,  struck  the  same  house  and  found  a  peck 
of  corn  meal,  all  they  had.  He  took  all  the  meal  and 
the  sifter,  in  his  gum  blanket,  and  went  out  in  the 
orchard,  spread  his  blanket  on  the  grass  under  an 
apple  tree,  and  deliberately  went  to  sifting  his  confis- 


32  A  MEMOIR  OF 

cated  meal.  About  this  time  the  lady  of  the  house 
discovered  that  her  meal  had  all  vanished,  and  at 
once  reported  the  fact  to  Gen.  McPherson,  and  he 
to  his  staff.  With  them,  it  was  find  the  meal  or  no 
bread.  They  all  struck  out  on  the  search.  The  Gen- 
eral discovered  Goldsmith  and  went  up  to  him,  and 
the  colloquy  that  ensued  was  about  as  follows: 

"Young  man,  you  seem  well  heeled." 

"1  know  it,  General." 

""Whose  cook  are  you?" 

"Surgeon  Stephenson's." 

ifHow  many  in  your  mess?" 

"Four." 

"Well,  you  don't  need  a  whole  peck  of  meal;  can't 
you  divide?" 

"All  right,  General.  Doc  is  the  most  liberal  man  in 
the  army,  and  here  is  half  the  meal." 

During  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  Dr.  Stephenson  occu- 
pied the  house  of  Col.  Durden  for  a  hospital.  Col. 
Durden  was  a  stately  old  southern  gentleman,  who 
had  been  very  wealthy  before  the  war,  but,  after  both 
the  Confederate  and  Federal  armies  had  pillaged  the 
plantation,  his  family  was  left  destitute  of  even  the 
necessities  of  life,  a  melancholy  instance  of  the  sad  re- 
sult of  war.  Dr.  Stephenson  sympathized  deeply  with 
the  old  couple,  and  while  in  the  neighborhood  he  saw 
that  they  were  supplied  with  food,  and  protected  from 
abuse. 

I  will  here  quote  a  passage  from  a  letter  written  to 
me  by  Major  Nolte: 

"Your  father's  goodness  of  heart  was  not  alone  con- 
fined to  his  friends,  but  took  in  all  suffering  humanity. 
When  Yicksburg  surrendered,  your  father  could  not 


DR.   STEPHENSON. 

dispose  of  his  sick  and  wounded  in  time  to  accompany 
the  regiment  on  "to  Jackson. 

"  Therefore,  when  I  arrived  at  Vicksburg  (the  major 
had  been  home  on  a  furlough  occasioned  by  sickness)  on 
July  5th,  I  found  your  father  there,  and  we  started  on 
horseback,  on  the  morning  of  July  6th,  to  overtake 
the  regiment.  Before  we  started,  we  took  every  bottle 
of  whisky  we  could  carry;  our  troops  would  need  them; 
in  the  absence  of  medical  stores.  The  rebel  prisoners, 
paroled,  had  started  on  July  5th.  Exhausted,  sick, 
they  lined  the  road  from  Yicksburs:  to  Baker's  Creek. 
We  traveled  the  same  road.  The  doctor  would  stop 
at  every  group  of  rebels,  and  hand  out  a  bottle  of 
whisky;  and  so  it  went.  When  he  arrived  at  Baker's 
Creek,  where  our  roads  diverged,  the  sick,  exhausted, 
rebels  had  all  our  whisky,  and  many  a  *  God  bless  you/ 
did  the  doctor  receive  from  the  rebels. 

'•We  rode  all  that  day  and  night.  About  daylight,- 
we  met  a  stream  ©f  wagons  going  to  Vicksburg  for 
supplies.  The  men  told  us  that  our  division  had  struck 
and  charged  the  rebel  works  at  Jackson,  the  evening 
before,  and  that  our  brigade  had  led  the  charge  and 
failed,  and  that  half  of  the  brigade  lay  dead  and 
wounded  under  the  rebel  works.  We  felt  so  shocked 
we  could  ride  no  further,  dismounted  and  sat  down 
by  a  tree.  Tears  may  indicate  weakness,  but  do  you: 
know  the  bravest  are  the  tenderest?  I  never  knew  a 
more  tender-hearted  or  braver  man  than  B.  F.  Stephen- 
son.  When  we  arrived  at  Jackson,  the  next  day,  we 
found  it  was  the  first  brigade  that  had  suffered,  not 
ours,  but  the  slaughter  was  none  the  less  sad." 

The   same  writer  says,   "No  surgeon  could,  in  the 
14th,  fill  the  place  of' Old  Butch'  (Dr.  Stephenson). 
— o 


34  A   MEMOIR  OF 

This,  with  the  regiment,  was  a  term  of  respect  and 
endearment.  Often  have  I  heard  the  inquiry,  'Where 
is  Old  Butch ? '  'Is  Old  Butch  present ? '  when  the  regi- 
ment was  preparing  for  battle.  If  your  father  was 
with  us,  we  went  into  battle  with  lighter  hearts,  be- 
cause his  care  and  skill  would  fix  us  up  all  right  again, 
if  wounded.  *  *  Whether  on  the  skirmish  line,  or 
in  the  stubborn  conflict  in  line  of  battle,  where  shot 
and  shell  plowed  their  deepest  furrows  there  was 
glorious  'Old  Butch,'  and  there  he  staid  until  forced 
to  the  amputating  tent." 

After  Dr.  Stephenson  overtook  the  troops  at  Jackson, 
he,  in  company  with  Major  Nolte,  his  bosom  friend, 
rode  out  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting  the  Union  picket 
line  and  the  rebel  works.  The  doctor  left  his  assis- 
tant orders  not  to  attempt  any  amputations  until  he 
returned.  The  assistant  surgeon  disregarded  his  in- 
structions, however,  and,  although  there  was  really 
nothing  to  warrant  an  amputation,  took  off  a  man's 
leg  while  his  senior  was  absent.  When  Dr.  Stephenson 
returned,  and  heard  of  the  occurrence,  he  was  very 
much  enraged.  He  was  no  experimenter  upon  living 
subjects,  and  allowed  none  of  his  subordinates  to  ex- 
periment. 

The  next  day  after  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg,  the 
troops  were  ordered  to  Jackson.  After  the  evacuation 
of  this  city,  they  again  returned  to  Yicksburg.  After 
the  troops  were  recruited  somewhat,  they  were  ordered 
to  Natchez.  They  returned  to  Vicksburg;  in  November 
and  were  stationed  at  Camp  Cowan  and  Camp  Hebron, 
on  Black  river,  ten  miles  in  the  rear  of  Vicksburg. 

Dr.  Stepheuson,  finding  that  the  troops  were  to  re- 
main here  for  some  time,  and  being  anxious  to  see  his 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  35 

family,  wrote  to  his  wife,  asking  her  to  come  to  Vicks- 
burg.  A  pretty  incident  is  connected  with  the  visit  of 
the  doctor's  family,  showing  to  what  extent  he  had 
won  the  affection  of  the  soldiers  with  whom  he  was 
intimately  associated. 

Dr.  Stephenson  had  engaged  rooms  for  his  family  at 
a  house  just  outside  the  Union  picket  lines,  and  about 
a  mile  from  camp.  But  his  family  was  delayed,  and 
he  got  word  that  his  wife  and  children  would  not  ar- 
rive until  some  two  or  three  weeks  later  than  he  at 
first  supposed.  In  the  meantime,  a  certain  officer,  a 
friend  of  Dr.  Stephenson,  had  returned  from  the  North, 
bringing  with  him  a  bride.  The  young  officer  was  in  a 
quandary;  he  had  no  place  to  which  he  could  take  his 
wife.  Always  at  the  service  of  his  friends,  Dr.  Stephen- 
son, immediately  on  hearing  of  the  officer's  dilemma, 
proffered  the  rooms  he  had  hired  for  his  family,  with  the 
express  understanding,  however,  that  they  were  to  im- 
mediately vacate  on  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Stephenson. 
Mrs.  Stephenson  at  length  arrived  on  short  notice  to 
her  husband.  The  doctor  notified  the  friend  whom  he 
had  accommodated,  but  the  gentleman  refused  to  give 
up  the  apartments,  intimating  that  he  had  possession 
and  intended  to  keep  it. 

Dr.  Stephenson  was  very  much  perplexed.  What  was 
he  to  do?  His  family  was  coming,  and  there  was  no 
place  prepared  for  them.  He  confided  his  troubles  to 
Major  Nolte.  The  major  kindly  told  him  not  to  worry, 
but  to  take  the  ambulance  and  bring  his  family  to 
camp,  and  meanwhile  he  (the  major)  would  see  that 
a  lodging  was  provided.  The  major  informed  the  boys 
of  the  14th  of  their  surgeon's  predicament,  and  started 
them  immediately  to  building  a  chimney  to  a  large 
tent.  He  also  requested  each  of  them  to  contribute 


36  A    MEMOIR  OF 

what  he  could  spare  from  his  small  store  of  comforts 
towards  furnishing  the  tent.  Some  of  the  soldiers  had 
hoarded  bits  of  carpet  and  various  odds  and  ends  of 
furniture,  towards  increasing;  the  scanty  comforts  of 
their  winter  camp.  These  they  cheerfully  brought  for 
the  service  of  their  surgeon's  family. 

When  the  doctor  arrived  with  his  family,  coming  in 
from  the  drizzling  rain,  a  pleasant  sight  met  their 
eyes.  A  cheerful  fire  blazed  on  the  hearth,  and  com- 
fortable arm-chairs  standing  near  invited  them  to  rest. 
Everything  was  cosy  and  comfortable.  Of  course  the 
doctor  took  in  the  situation  at  a  glance,  and  knew  that 
the  boys  of  the  old  14th  had  purchased  the  comfort 
of  his  family  at  the  price  of  their  own. 

About  the  first  of  February,  the  troops  were  ordered 
out  on  the  famous  Meridian  raid.  On  this  raid,  an  in- 
cident occurred  which  exhibits  Dr.  Stephenson's  loyalty 
to  his  friends.  At  Enterprise,  Major  Nolte  was  at- 
tacked by  sciatic  rheumatism,  a  disease  to  which  he 
had  become  subject.  So  violent  was  the  attack  that 
he  could  not  be  moved.  As  the  troops  were  pushing 
on  as  rapidly  as  possible,  skirmishing  as  they  marched, 
it  was  proposed  that  they  should  leave  the  major  to 
the  ''tender  care  of  the  rebels."  Dr.  Stephenson  was 
very  much  excited  on  hearing  this  proposal.  "If  you 
leave  the  major,"  he  exclaimed,  "you  leave  me,  too, 
for  I  will  never  leave  him  while  there  is  breath  in  his 
body!"  He  was  the  kind  of  man  who  would  die  for 
his  friend  and  think  it  nothing  but  his  duty.  For- 
tunately for  both,  the  major  had  so  far  recovered,  by 
the  time  they  were  ready  to  resume  the  march,  that  he 
could  sit  on  a  horse,  with  one  on  each  side  to  hold 
him. 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  37 

After  the  Meridian  raid,  the  troops  returned  to  Vicks- 
burg;  from  thence,  they  went  to  Cairo,  111.  Then  they 
took  some  cattle  designed  for  Sherman's  army  up  the 
Tennessee.  They  landed  at  Clifton,  Tenn.  They  drove 
the  cattle  down  to  Athens,  Ala. ;  from  thence  across 
to  Huntsville.  Here  a  part  of  the  new  veterans  drove 
them  on  farther,  then  returned  to  meet  the  rest  at 
Huntsville. 

Dr.  Stephenson's  term  expired  on  the  25th  of  May, 
1864.  He  then  returned  home,  and  was  mustered  out, 
June  24,  1864. 


38  A   MEMOIR   OF 


PART  III. 


"Grim-visag'd  War  hath  smoothed  his  wrinkled  front." 

"Whether  we  fight  or  whether  we  fall 

By  saber  stroke  or  rifle  ball, 

The  hearts  of  the  free  will  remember  us  yet, 

And  our  country,  our  country  will  never  forget." 

After  leaving  the  army,  Dr.  Stephenson  located  at 
Springfield,  111.,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine. The  following  reminiscence  illustrates  his  friend- 
liness for  the  soldiers,  especially  those  with  whom  he 
had  had  any  intercourse  in  war  times. 

About  a  year  after  Dr.  Stephenson  had  left  the  army, 
Mr.  Samuel  Walker,  a  soldier  of  the  14th,  who  had 
been  imprisoned  in  Andersonville,  was  ordered  to 
Springfield  to  be  mustered  out.  As  Dr.  Stephenson 
was  driving  along  the  street,  he  saw  Mr.  Walker. 
Recognizing  him,  he  immediately  drew  rein  and  hailed 
him: 

"Well,  Sam,  you  are  just  out  of  Andersonville,  and 
half  dead,  too.  What's  the  matter  with  you  anyhow?" 

Looking  at  his  old  Surgeon,  with  a  ghost  of  a  smile, 
the  veteran  replied:  "You  ought  to  know,  Doc." 

The  doctor  immediately  named  his  disease,  and  bade 
him  get  in  the  buggy  with  him.  He  drove  on  to  a  drug 
store,  examined  Mr.  Walker,  and  prepared  half  a  gal- 
lon of  medicine,  giving  him  directions  for  taking  it. 
Mr.  Walker  had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  taking 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  39 

medicine  from  the  regimental  surgeon  free  of  charge, 
that  he  picked  up  the  medicine  and  turned  to  leave, 
without  thinking  it  was  to  'be  paid  for.  Looking  at 
him  with  a  quizzical  smile,  the  doctor  hesitatingly  ob- 
served: "Sam,  the  government  does  not  furnish  that 
medicine,  but  I  will  let  you  have  it  at  half  price  " 

Most  of  the  anecdotes  I  have  used  were  contributed 
by  men  of  the  old  14th.  I  have  considered  it  appro- 
priate that  the  old  soldiers  should  express  their  affec- 
tion for  my  father,  and  their  admiration  for  his 
character. 

After  he  left  the  army  and  located  at  Springfield, 
Dr.  Stephenson  was  made  a  member  of  the  examining 
board  of  surgeons  at  Camp  Butler,  near  Springfield. 
After  Surgeon  A.  B.  Campbell  was  mustered  out  of 
service,  and  left  for  Philadelphia,  by  his  (Campbell's) 
request,  Dr.  Stephenson  took  charge  of  the  hospital 
at  Camp  Butler,  and  acted  from  December  12,  1865, 
to  January  31,  1866,  when  Dr.  Buck  received  a  con- 
tract. Shortly  afterwards,  Dr.  Stephenson  succeeded 
Dr.  Buck.  He  received  the  contract  giving  him  charge 
of  the  hospital  about  February  26,  1866.  The  pay 
at  this  time  was  eighty  dollars  per  month,  but  May 
14,  1866,  he  received  another  contract,  allowing  him 
one  hundred  dollars  per  month.  He  remained  in  charge 
of  this  hospital  until  the  soldiers  were  all  mustered 
out,  and  the  stores  sold. 

Dr.  Stephenson  was  a  physician  of  large  practice 
and  considerable  reputation.  He  had  also  a  very  kind 
heart,  and  numbered  among  his  patients  many  who  he 
knew  could  never  pay  him  a  cent.  Suffering  humanity, 
especially  women  and  children,  of  any  class,  touched 
his  heart  deeply.  How  profoundly,  then,  did  it  move 


40  A  MEMOIR  OF 

him  to  see  the  soldier's  widow  and  orphans  in  w7ant, 
and  such  cases  were  constantly  forced  on  his  notice. 
"Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  he  should 
lay  down  his  life  for  his  friend."  The  soldier  had  done 
this  for  his  country,  and  that  country  had  promised 
to  care  for  his  helpless  family.  But  the  country, 
though  well  meaning,  was  slow,  and  meantime  the 
orphans  were  starving.  The  returned  soldier  himself 
found  it  hard  to  find  employment  on  reentering  civil 
life.  The  place  he  had  vacated  at  his  country's  call 
was  filled  by  another,  and  he  must  begin  his  tussle 
with  the  world  again  at  a  disadvantage;  perhaps 
crippled,  an  arm  or  a  leg  gone;  or,  if  he  was  so  for- 
tunate as  to  retain  all  his  limbs,  some  disease,  brought 
on  by  exposure  and  hardships  incident  to  war,  had 
fastened  its  fell  grip  on  him.  If  no  chronic  malady 
had  yet  made  its  appearance,  most  probably  the 
germs  were  lurking  somewhere  in  his  system.  He  was 
aged  and  enfeebled  by  his  army  experiences.  So  char- 
acteristic is  selfishness  of  human  nature  that  the  ex- 
. soldier's  more  fortunate  neighbors,  who  had  been 
prospering  in  business  while  he  was  fighting  the  enemy, 
and,  perhaps,  running  in  debt  to  keep  his  family  on 
his  slender  pay,  had,  too  often,  no  helping  hand  to 
extend  to  him,  but  were,  rather,  jealous  of  the  moderate 
praise  and  notice  he  received  from  the  public. 

Dr.  Stephenson  was  a  close  observer  of  all  this,  and 
he  soon  lifted  up  his  voice  in  the  soldier's  behalf.  His 
professions  of  friendship  for  the  soldier  were  accom- 
panied by  practical  ministrations,  to  which  many  a 
befriended  widow  or  orphan,  or  distressed  soldier,  can 
testify,  if  yet  living.  He  gave  employment  to  soldiers, 
soldiers'  widows  and  orphans,  whenever  he  could,  and 
induced  others  to  employ  them.  He  attended  them  in 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  41 

illness,  free  of  charge,  if  they  were  unable  to  pay.  The 
magic  phrase,  soldier's  widow  or  orphan,  was  an  open 
sesame  to  his  great  heart  and  ever  generous  purse. 

The  soldier  felt  the  injustice  and  ingratitude  exhibited 
by  some,  not  all,  whose  prosperity  had  been  purchased 
by  his  self-sacrifice,  and  already  various  local  unions 
had  been  formed.  The  idea  that  union  of  some  kind 
was  necessary  was  developing  in  the  ex-military  mind, 
but,  as  yet,  no  attempt  had  been  made  to  make  this 
union  National. 

The  neglect  of  the  soldier  and  the  soldier's  widow 
and  orphans  aroused  Dr.  Stephenson's  extreme  indig- 
nation. The  more  he  brooded  over  it  the  more  he  be- 
came convinced  that  something  must  be  done.  At 
length,  in  January,  1866,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  a 
National  Soldiers'  Mutual  Benefit  Society,  whose  motto 
should  be  Loyalty,  Fraternity,  and  Charity,  and  whose 
glorious  name  should  be  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public. It  should  be  a  secret  society,  with  grips  and 
pass-words,  non-partisan,  and  loyal.  He  consulted 
with  his  friends  about  his  new  idea;  some  encouraged 
it,  but  the  majority  thought  it  visionary  and  imprac- 
ticable. The  doctor  was  a  good  fellow,  they  thought, 
but  infatuated  with  his  enthusiasms.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  confer  frequently  on  the  subject  of  his  favorite 
hobby,  or  fad,  it  would  be  called  now,  with  Colonel 
Grass,  a  gentleman  occupying  an  office  on  the  same 
floor  as  his  own.  Colonel  Grass  listened  sympatheti- 
cally, but  thought  his  friend  overly  sanguine,  and 
something  of  a  hobby -rider. 

One  day  he  came  into  Colonel  Grass'  office,  sat  down, 
and  fully  and  minutely  unfolded  to  him  his  plan  of  or- 
ganization, the  rules,  regulations,  ritual,  and  all.  Then 


42  A  MEMOIR  OF 

he  requested  Colonel  Grass  to  write  it  out,  or,  as  he 
expressed  it,  "lick  it  into  shape,"  for  him.  This  the 
colonel  refused  to  do,  alleging  his  inability  to  per- 
form the  task.  The  doctor  repeated  his  request  several 
times,  but  the  colonel  always  refused.  At  length  Dr. 
Stephenson  scolded  the  colonel,  in  his  good  natured 
way,  for  his  "laziness,"  and  announced  his  intention 
of  writing  out  the  work  himself. 

A  letter  from  Col.  Grass  is  before  me,  and  I  quote 
from  it  as  I  write: 

"One  Sunday  morning— as  I  now  recollect,  in  the 
early  part  of  February,  1866— your  father  came  into 
my  office  and  threw  a  large  bundle  of  manuscript  on 
my  table,  saying,  as  he  did  so,  'read  that.'  It  was  the 
original  manuscript  of  the  ritual,  rules  and  regula- 
tions, for  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  all  in  your  father's  own  handwriting,  includ- 
ing erasures,  interlineations,  and  punctuation.  There 
was  not  a  line,  word  or  letter  in  it,  written  by  any 
other  person.  We  devoted  most  of  that  day,  and  part 
of  the  next  day.  to  looking  over  and  revising  the 
manuscript.  I  suggested  a  few  verbal  changes,  but  the 
general  phraseology,  and  the  whole  subject-matter,  was 
left  wholly  unchanged.  And  whatever  others  may  have 
suggested,  said,  or  done,  I  do  know  that  the  whole 
was  printed  and  used,  at  first,  in  the  organization  of 
Posts  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  almost  literally  as  submitted  to 
me  by  your  father." 

After  he  had  written  out  the  work,  Dr.  Stephenson 
submitted  it  to  Gov.  Oglesby,  who  approved  the  work, 
but  thought  the  plan  of  organization  would  not  suc- 
ceed. 


DR.    STEPHENSON.  43 

Anxious  to  commence  organizing,  Dr.  Stephenson 
procured  the  assistance  of  certain  of  his  friends,  namely, 
Capt.  Howe,  of  Ohio,  Col.  Flood,  of  Wisconsin,  Capt. 
J.  N.  Hill,  and  Col.  Daniel  Grass,  of  Illinois,  then  on 
duty  at  Springfield. 

Dr.  J.  W.  Routh  and  Capt.  M.  F.  Kanan,  of  Decatur, 
Illinois,  both  intimate  friends  of  Dr.  Stephenson,  ur- 
gently requested  Dr.  Stephenson  to  visit  Decatur  with 
a  view  to  organizing.  He  did  so  early  in  the  spring 
of  1866,  and  placed  his  manuscript  plans  in  the  hands 
of  a  committee  composed  of  Dr.  J.  W.  Routh,  Capt.  J. 
T.  Bishop,  Capt.  M.  F.  Kanan,  Maj.  George  R.  Steele, 
and  Capt.  Geo.  H.  Dunning.  These  gentlemen,  after  ex- 
amining the  plans,  approved  them.  I.  N.  Coltrin  and 
Joseph  Prior,  printers,  after  taking  the  oaths  and  obli- 
gations of  the  order,  were  entrusted  with  printing  the 
first  copies  of  the  constitution,  ritual,  rules,  etc. 

On  the  sixth  day  of  April,  1866,  the  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Shiloh,  in  which  battle  Dr.  Stephenson 
and  nearly  all  the  charter  members  of  this  Post  had 
taken  an  active  part,  B.  F.  Stephenson  established  the 
first  encampment  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
Post  No.  1,  of  Decatur,  District  of  Macon,  Department 
of  Illinois.  The  charter  members  of  this  Post  were 
Capt.  M.  F.  Kanan,  Major  Geo.  R.  Steele,  George  H. 
Dunning,  Col.  Isaac  C.  Pugh,  Lieut.  Col.  John  H.  Nale, 
J.  T.  Bishop,  C.  Riebsame,  Dr.  J.  W.  Routh,  B.  F.  Sib- 
ley,  I.  N.  Coltrin,  Joseph  Prior,  and  A.  Toland. 

At  this  first  meeting  the  following  officers  were  elected: 
Brig.  Gen.  I.  C.  Pugh,  Commandant  of  District;  Lieut. 
Col.  J.  H.  Nale,  District  Quartermaster;  Dr.  J.  W. 
Routh,  District  Adjutant.  These  were  the  district  offi- 
cers; those  of  the  Post  were:  M.  F.  Kanan,  P.  C.;  G. 


44  A  MEMOIR  OF 

R.  Steele,  P.  A.;  G.  H.  Dunning;,  P.  Q.  M.;  Chris  Rieb- 
same,  0.  D.;  J.  T.  Bishop,  0.  G.;  J.  W.  Routh,  P.  Sur- 
geon. 

.  The  next  Post  organized  was  at  Springfield,  Dr.  Ste- 
phenson's  home.  This  was  named  Stephenson  Post 
No.  2.  The  number  of  this  Post  has  been  changed 
since,  but  it  still  retains  the  right  to  the  number  two. 
The  charter  members  of  this  Post  were  Gen.  T.  S. 
Mather,  Commander;  Major  E.  S.  Johnson,  Adj.;  Capt. 
N.  B.  Ames,  Q.  M.;  Major  B.  F.  Stephenson,  Col.  Geo. 
T.  Allan,  Gen.  John  Cook,  Major  James  Hamilton,  Col. 
James  H.  Matheny,  Col.  J.  M.  Snyder,  Gen.  John  Mc- 
€oimell,  Lieut.  L.  E.  Rosette,  and  Col.  Edward  Prince. 
A  charter  was  issued  to  this  Post  July  21,  1866. 

Drs  Stephenson,  full  of  energetic  enthusiasm  over  his 
own  idea,  now  pushed  on  the  organization  rapidly. 
He  hired  men  and  sent  them  out,  at  his  own  expense, 
to  organize  Posts  in  his  own  and  other  States.  At 
length  he  succeeded  in  organizing  forty  Posts.  He  then 
called  a  convention  of  all  soldiers  in  good  standing, 
to  meet  him  at  Springfield,  111.,  on  the  12th  day  of 
July,  1866.  At  this  convention  was  organized  the 
Department  of  Illinois,  with  Major  General  John  M. 
Palmer  as  Department  Commander.  This  was  a  per- 
manent, not  a  provisional,  organization. 

Dr.  B.  F.  Stephenson,  the  founder,  was  honored  by 
being  appointed  Provisional  Commander-in-Chief. 

The  Doctor's  agents  were  active,  and  Indiana  was 
soon  provisionally  organized.  Next  came  Ohio.  Dr. 
Stepheuson  sent  Col.  Proudfit  to  Wisconsin.  This  gen- 
tleman called  a  convention  of  the  order  of  soldiers 
which  existed  in  that  State,  and  of  which  he,  himself, 
was  a  member,  and  thev  united  with  the  G.  A.  R. 


DR.    STEPHENSON.  45 

With  indefatigable  zeal,  Dr.  Stephenson,  as  Pro- 
visional Commander-in-Chief  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  continued 
to  push  its  interests.  He  still  had  men  at  work  or- 
ganizing in  the  different  States;  he  published  and  sent 
out  the  necessary  pamphlets  and  papers,  circulars,  etc., 
to  the  different  departments,  at  his  own  expense. 
Although  the  first  copies  of  the  constitution,  by-laws, 
etc.,  were  printed  at  Decatur,  111.,  Capt.  Geo.  R.  Webber, 
of  Springfield,  111.,  was,  I  believe,  the  first  printer 
with  whom  a  contract  was  made  for  printing  the  neces- 
sary papers  and  pamphlets  of  the  G.  A.  R. 

The  idea  of  the  G.  A.  R.  seemed  to  take  right  hold 
of  the  hearts  of  the  soldiers.  Posts  sprang  up  rapidly. 
The  doctor,  however,  did  not  slacken  his  efforts  be- 
cause he  found  the  soldiers  ready  to  take  hold.  When 
rivals  aspired  to  the  office  of  Commander  of  the  same 
State  department,  he  exerted  himself  to  smooth  mat- 
ters, to  conciliate  both,  or  all,  parties.  He  encour- 
aged those  exerting  themsefves  to  firmly  establish  the 
new  order,  and  prophesied  great  things  of  it. 

The  first  National  Convention  of  the  G.  A.  R.  met  at 
Indianapolis,  November  20,  1866.  It  was  called  by 
Dr.  Stephenson,  the  Provisional  Commander-in-Chief. 
At  this  convention,  the  following  officers  served :  Presi- 
dent —  John  M.  Palmer,  Illinois.  Vice-Presidents  — 
Thomas  C.  Fletcher,  Missouri;  R.  S.  Foster,  Indiana; 
J.  B.  McKean,  New  York;  John  C.  Kelley,  Pennsylva- 
nia; J.  K.  Proudfit,  Wisconsin;  William  O.Ryan, Iowa; 
Robert  Catterson,  Arkansas;  B.  ^.  Stephenson,  Illi- 
nois; Thomas  B.  Farleigh,  Kentucky;  August  Willich, 
Ohio.  Secretary— L.  E.  Dudley,  District  of  Columbia. 
Assistant  Secretaries— Daniel  Macauley,  Indiana ;  Clay- 
ton McMichael,  Pennsylvania;  F.  G.  Ledergerber,  Mis- 


46  A    MEMOIR  OF 

souri;  Charles  G.  Mayers,  Wisconsin;  T.  M.  Thompson, 
Illinois.  Chaplain — J.  H.  Lozier,  Indiana. 

The  following  National  officers  were  elected  by  this 
convention:  Commander-in-Chief  —  S.  A.  Hurlbut,  of 
Illinois.  Senior  Vice-Commander-in-Chief — J.  B.  Mc- 
Kean,  of  New  York.  Junior  Vice-Commander-in-Chief — 
R.  S.  Foster,  Indiana.  Adjutant  General— B.  F.  Ste- 
phenson,  Illinois.  Quartermaster  General  —  August 
Willich,  Ohio.  Surgeon  General— D.  C.  McNeil,  Iowa. 
Chaplain— William  A.  Pile,  Missouri.  Council  of  Admin- 
istration— J.  K.  Proudfit,  Wisconsin;  Win. Vanderveve, 
Iowa;  T.  0.  Osborne,  Illinois;  T.  C.  Fletcher,  Missouri; 
T.  T.  Taylor,  Ohio;  H.  K.  Milward,  Kentucky;  F.  J. 
Bramhall,  New  York;  Nathan  Kimball,  Indiana;  Clay- 
ton McMichael,  Pennsylvania. 

The  convention  considered  the  rules,  regulations,  etc., 
and  made  some  additions  and  alterations. 

Surgeon  H.  W.  Davis  offered  the  following  resolution: 

WHEREAS,  We,  the  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, recognize  in  Major  B.  F.  Stephenson,  of  Springfield,  111., 
the  head  and  front  of  the  organization;  be  itr,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  for  the  energy,  loyalty,  and  perseverence  mani- 
fested in  organizing  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  he  is 
entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  all  loyal  men,  and  that  we,  as  sol- 
diers, tender  him  our  thanks,  and  pledge  him  our  friendships 
at  all  times,  and  under  all  circumstances. 

Adopted. 

"Comrade  Stephenson  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  '  The  Great  Republic '  be,  and  is  hereby  adopted 
as  the  national  organ  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic." 

"The  Great  Republic,"  a  paper  edited  in  Washington, 
D.  C.,  by  L.  Edwin  Dudley,  was  for  some  time  the  or- 
gan of  the  G.  A.  R. 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  '47 

The  duties  of  Adjutant  General  of  the  G.  A.  R.  were 
so  onerous  in  connection  with  Dr.  Stephenson 's  prac- 
tice, at  this  time,  when  the  order  was  spreading  so 
rapidly,  and  he  was  constantly  receiving  letters  from 
all  parts  of  the  Union,  that  he  was  obliged  to  hire  a 
clerk.  The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by 
Dr.  Stephen  son  will  demonstrate  the  fact  that  his  office 
was  no  sinecure,  and  that  the  work  of  organization 
was  not  molding  and  directing  itself,  like  the  survival 
of  the  fittest,  as  some  seem  to  think. 

"You  see,  my  dear  Col.,  I  could  not  do  less.  It 
would  have  been  a  repudiation  of  my  own  acts,"  (his 
Aid,  it  seems,  had  done  something  which  was  not  just 
in  regular  order  during  the  preliminary  organization, 
and  Dr.  Stephenson,  as  Provisional  Commander-in- 
Chief  was  bound  to  recognize  the  work  of  his  Aids,) 
"and  it  is  but  an  act  of  justice  to  Gen.  C.  It  may  be 
he  is  not  a  good  man,  etc.,  but  I  had  no  right  to  do 
him  an  injury.  And  you  will  eee  further  that  this  is 
not  going  behind  the  present  organization,  but  bring- 
ing it  up  to  that  point.  I  did  this  to  harmonize  things, 
and  General  C.  expressed  himself  as  entirely  satisfied, 
and  speaks  of  General  M.  as  warmly,  almost,  as  you 
do.  I  will  send  you,  in  a  few  days,  copies  of  new  .rit- 
ual, charter,  commissions,  constitution,  etc." 

There  were  jealousies  to  be  allayed,  and  irregulari- 
ties of  hurried  organization  to  be  adjusted,  and  many 
other  cares  incident  to  the  development  of  a  new  order. 
Nothing  must  interfere  with  the  harmony;  diplomat- 
is  rn  was  needed  until  the  organization  should  be  strong 
enough  to  stand  alone;  to  demonstrate  that  its  idea 
of  what  was  best  for  the  soldier  was  the  correct  one. 
To  this  task,  Dr.  Stephenson  appears  to  have  brought 
very  unusual  patience,  zeal,  and  ability. 


48  A  MEMOIR  OF 

To  one  dissatisfied  with  the  appointment  of  a  cer- 
tain provisional  commander,  he  writes: 

"But,  my  dear  comrade  and  fellow-soldier,  this  need 
not  interfere  with  you  at  all.  When  ten  Posts  are  or- 
ganized, Gen is  compelled  to  call  a  convention 

and  organize  permanently.  If  he  does  not,  make  re- 
port to  these  Headquarters,  and  he  will  be  ordered 
to  do  so.  But  he  writes  me  that  he  wants  to  effect  a 
permanent  organization  by  Jan.  1st.  Your  remedy 
will  be  to  attend  the  convention  and  elect  your  own 
man.  *  *  *  I  will  present  your  name  to  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  for  one  of  his  Aids,  and  shall  insist  on 
the  appointment  being  made  and  continued  through- 
out the  year." 

I  shall  now  mention  some  of  the  pioneers  of  the 
G.  A.  R.,  who  were  specially  zealous  and  active  in 
helping1  Dr.  Stephenson  carry  out  his  plans  of  organi- 
zation : 

Col.  Benj.  F.  Hawkes,  first  P.  C.,  Post  of  North 
Fairfield,  District  of  Huron,  Department  of  Ohio,  was 
a  pioneer  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  active  in  organizing  Posts 
in  Ohio. 

Maj.  Gen.  Louis  Wagner,  of  Philadelphia,  was  the 
Provisional  Commander  of  the  Department  of  Penn- 
sylvania, appointed  by  Commander-in-Chief  Hurlbut. 

October  6,  1866,  about  six  weeks  before  the  Indi- 
anapolis convention,  Dr.  Stephenson  appointed  Col. 
Frank  J.  Bramhall,  of  New  York  city,  Aid-de-Camp 
for  the  Department  of  New  York.  He  was  active  in 
the  work  of  organizing, 

Col.  A.  L.  Pearson,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  was  a  pioneer 
in  G.  A.  R.  work. 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  49 

Gen.  J.  B.  McKean,  of  Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y.,  was 
appointed  by  Gen.  Hurlbut  Commander  of  Provis- 
ional Department  of  New  York. 

Capt.  John  A.  Lightfoot,  Gen.  Jules  C.  Webber  and 
Col.  Daniel  Grass  were  Adjutants  to  Dr.  Stephenson 
during1  the  preliminary  organization.  The  two  latter 
gentlemen  were  also  Adjutants-General  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Illinois  during  the  first  few  months  of  the 
organization,  Col.  Grass  succeeding  Gen.  Webber. 
Col.  Grass  was  specially  active  in  organizing  Posts  in 
southern  Illinois. 

Col.  Thomas  B.  Farleigh,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  Tem- 
porary Commander  Provisional  Department  of  Ken- 
tucky; Maj.  Gen.  John  Corcoran,  of  New  York  city; 
Gen.  E.  W.  Whitaker,  Hartford,  Conn.;  Capt.  Thomas 
P.  Parker,  Camden,  N.  J.;  Col.  Frank  Daggett,  Min- 
nesota; T.  J:  Madison,  Topeka,  Kan.;  Maj.  0.  M. 
Wilson,  Indiana;  Gen,  Benjamin  F.  Potts,  Ohio;  Col. 
Thomas  T.  Taylor,  Georgetown,  Ohio;  Brig.  Gen.  A. 
Kushinford,  Wilmington,  N  C.;  F.  M.  Young,  Atlanta, 
111.;  Andrew  Cunningham,  Kanawha,  W.  Va.;  Col. 
William  W.  Woodcock,  Nashville,  Tenn.;  O.  L.  Dud- 
ley, Minnesota;  Capt.  Robert  Gray,  Martinsburg, 
W.  Va.;  Col.  E.  S.  Northcott,  Clarksville,  W.  Va.; 
N.  N.  Tyne,  Iowa;  Col.  G.  S.  Jennings,  Rochester., 
N.  Y.,  were  pioneers  in  G.  A.  R.  work. 

Dr.  Stephenson  writes:  "The  order  is  growing  with 
superhuman  strides  in  the  East,  and  they  threaten  to 
beat  us.  We  must  not  let  them." 

Again:  "We  are  glad  to  see  the  work  going  ahead. 
It  is  bound  to  be  the  great  power,  and  those  who 
take  the  lead  will  not  be  forgotten." 


50  A  MEMOIR  OF 

"You  must  not  slacken  your  energy.  The  order  is 
destined  to  be  the  power  in  the  land,  and  the  stay- 
at-home  politicians  are  beginning  to  tremble  in  their 
boots,  ,and  are  more  willing  to  feed  and  clothe  the 
poor  widows  and  orphans  of  our  noble  dead  soldiers. 
You  must  be  thoroughly  instructed,  and  go  to  work 
with  redoubled  energy.  The  pioneers  in  this  order 
will  not  be  forgotten.  ' 

The  letter  from  which  this  extract  was  taken  ie 
dated  December  18th,  1866. 

From  a  letter  dated  December  22,  1866,  written  just 
one  month  from  the  Indianapolis  convention,  I  clip 
the  following:  "I  have  run  the  Grand  Army  (being  the 
originator  and  founder  of  it)  at  my  own  individual 
expense,  never  having  received  a  farthing,  and  I  am 
about  run  out.  If  you  can  raise  me  a  little  for  the 
books  and  charters,  I  would  be  glad." 

"Accept  thanks  for  your  promptness,  and  hope  you 
will  push  on  the  good  work  in  Ohio." 

"It  gratifies  me  to  see  you  people  of  the  South  tak- 
ing such  an  interest  in  the  order."  From  a  letter  to 
A.  Cunningham,  West  Virginia. 

From  a  letter  to  Col.  R.  S.  Northcott,  West  Vir- 
ginia: "The  Commander-in-Chief  will  feel  under  es- 
pecial obligations  if  you  will  use  your  efforts  to  push 
the  order  in  your  state." 

44 1  have  to  start  the  entire  order  out  of  my  own 
means,  and  have  to  work  for  it,  at  that." 

I  find  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by  Adjutant  General 
Stephenson  to  General  Hurlbut,  dated  December  23, 
1866,  alluding  to  a  proposal  to  make  an  assessment 
of  one  cent  per  member,  and  about  the  same  time  a 
contract  was  entered  into  with  the  company  which  was 


DR.  STEPHENSON.  51 

to  manufacture  the  G.  A.  R.  badges,  by  which  the  G. 
A.  R.  reserved  to  itself  a  certain  per  cent,  of  the  sales, 
for  the  purpose  of  running  headquarters.  Neither  of 
these  enterprises,  however,  was  successful. 

In  a  short  account  of  the  organization,  Dr.  Stephen- 
son  says: 

"The  idea  originated  with  me,  in  the  month  of  Janu- 
ary, I860,  and  I  consulted  a  number  of  my  former 
comrades  and  friends  as  to  the  feasibility  of  organizing 
the  soldiers  into  a  mutual  benefit  society.  This  idea  was 
suggested  to  me  by  the  number  of  soldiers'  widows 
and  orphans  then  in  want  in  our  country.  I  was  dis- 
couraged by  almost  all.  The  plan  was  pronounced  al- 
together wild  and  impracticable." 

"Up  to  this  time  (the  organization  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Illinois,  July  12,  1866,)  not  a  single  man  of 
distinction  in  this  or  any  other  State  had  dared  to  con- 
nect his  name  with  the  order,  and  even  then  many  of 
them  did  it  with  trepidation." 

"'No  man  disputed  my  claim  to  its  origin  while  its 
success  was  problematical.  Then  it  was  my  order." 

From  another  article  from  his  pen  I  quote  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"  We  claim  to  stand  aloof  from  all  party  politics 
other  than  that  which  pertains  to  the  perpetuity  of 
this  Union  and  the  interest  and  well-being  of  the 
soldier." 

Alluding  to  the  fair  promises  made  to  the  soldier  at 
the  commencement  of  the  war,  he  says: 

"It  is  well  known  also  how  these  promises  have  been 
kept,  and  while  there  are  many  honorable  exceptions, 
while  many  persons  have  performed  all,  and  more  than 
all,  they  promised,  yet  the  great  majority  have  appar- 


52  A   MEMOIR   OF 

ently  forgotten  and  ignored  the  soldier  entirely,  and 
instead  of  finding  the  family  of  the  poor  soldier,  who 
was  induced  to  leave  his  wife  and  little  ones  by  the 
fair  promises  of  his  rich  neighbors  and  render  up  his 
life  as  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  his  country,  well 
cared  for,  well  clothed,  fed,  and  educated,  you  too 
often  find  the  poor  wife  washing  from  house  to  house 
for  bread  for  her  babes  to  eat,  and  the  poor  children 
half  starved  and  half  naked.  And  instead  of  the  soldier 
finding  the  place  open  for  him  that  he  left,  he  can 
scarcely  get  employment  at  all;  can't  even  get  employ- 
ment as  a  day-laborer,  provided  the  people  can  get 
anybody  else  cheaper." 

"The  offices,  promised  to  the  soldiers,  have  been  few 
and  far  between.  In  the  appointments  from  the  gen- 
eral government  there  are  not  to  exceed  half  a  dozen 
in  the  State;  not  one  until  since  the  organization  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  The  citizens  are  gen- 
erally very  careful  about  allowing  a  soldier  to  run  for 
office,  unless  it  is  some  party  that  is  greatly  in  the 
minority." 

"But,  as  before  stated,  whatever  views  we  may  have 
as  individuals,  we,  as  an  order,  have  nothing  to  do 
with  politics.  We  are  free,  untrammeled;  free  to  take 
whatever  side  appears  to  be  for  the  interest  of  the 
soldier." 

From  the  above  quotations  it  may  be  readily  judged 
what  a  benefit  the  Grand  Army  has  been  to  the  sol- 
diers of  this  country.  At  the  present  day,  a  man  who 
has  never  seen  a  battle-field  stands  a  poor  chance  for 
election  to  office,  if  his  rival  is  a  battle-scarred  soldier 
hero,  and  if  a  limb  has  been  lost  in  the  service,  or  an 
eye  injured,  these  are  credentials  amply  sufficient  to 
win  respect  and  veneration  from  patriotic  Americans. 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  53 

Commander-in-Chief  Hurlbut  ordered  the  Second  An- 
nual Convention  of  the  G.  A.  R.  to  convene  on  the 
15th  of  January,  1868,  in  Philadelphia.  At  this  con- 
vention the  following  report  was  submitted  by  Adju- 
tant General  Stephenson: 

HEADQUARTERS  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC, 
ADJUTANT  GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 

SPRINGFIELD,  ILL.,  Jan,  10,  1868. 

To  the  Comrades  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
through  their  representatives  in  National  Convention 
assembled,  greeting: 

The  Adjutant-General,  in  presenting  this  the  first 
official  report  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  glorious 
order  now* represented  in  National  convention,  ap- 
proaches the  subject  with  extreme  diffidence,  feeling 
himself,  as  he  does,  unable  to  do  the  subject  the  jus- 
tice it  deserves. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1866,  a  few  patriots,  deeply 
feeling  the  importance  of  organizing  a  grand  associa- 
tion of  the  gallant  Union  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the 
late  terrible  rebellion,  for  the  purpose  of  fostering 
fraternal  relations,  and  keeping  alive  the  zeal  of  pa- 
triotism and  devotion  to  our  country,  and  above  all 
for  the  purpose  of  mutual  support  and  assistance  in 
clothing  the  naked,  feeding  the  hungry,  and  furnishing 
employment  to  destitute,  sick  and  wounded  comrades, 
and  caring  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  our  gallant 
dead,  formed  their  plans,  and  publicly  calling  on  all 
interested,  on  the  12th  day  of  July,  1866,  met  in  con- 
vention in  the  Representatives'  Hall  in  the  State  cap- 
itol  at  Springfield,  111.,  and  then  and  there  formed  the 
nucleus  of  the  grand  organization  here  represented  in 
convention,  and  which,  .from  that  humble  origin  now 


54  A  MEMOIR  OF 

extends  an  influence  of  great  power  throughout  nearly 
every  State  and  Territory  in  our  country. 

Your  present  Adjutant-General  was  honored  by  the  ap- 
pointment as  Provisional  Commander-in-Chief .  With  but 
crude  materials  at  his  command  (mere  local  influence, 
and  but  little  pecuniary  means)  aided  by  a  few  noble 
workers,  he  succeeded  in  a  few  months  in  establishing 
Provisional  Departments  in  several  States  and  Terri- 
tories and  placing  them  in  good  working  order.  The 
Boys  in  Blue  saw  the  importance  of  the  organization, 
and  as  they  flew  to  arms  when  Sumter  fell,  so  did  they 
soon  fill  up  our  ranks.  But  the  material  was  crude, 
our  ranks  but  as  raw  recruits,  and  the  importance  of 
a  more  thorough  organization  was  keenly  felt.  So  the 
first  National  convention  was  called  to  convene  in  the 
city  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  on  the  20th  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1866,  and  then  and  there  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  received  its  first  official  recognition.  The 
officers  for  the  current  year  were  elected,  a  council  of 
administration  appointed,  a  constitution  and  regula- 
tions adopted,  and  the  noble  ship  with  its  precious 
freight  of  charity  and  fraternal  love,  with  the  stars 
and  stripes  nailed  to  the  mast,  was  launched  upon  the 
great  sea  of  human  events,  and  right  nobly  has  the 
gallant  bark  done  duty  since  that  time;  though  she 
has  passed  through  many  bitter  engagements  with  her 
ancient  enemies,  the  traitor  ship  and  crew,  and  even 
been  assailed  by  those  who  should  have  been  her 
friends,  her  flag  is  still  there! 

•fc  #  *  *  **** 

From  information  derived  from  numerous  letters  re- 
ceived daily  at  my  office  from  every  part  of  our  land, 
I  am  highly  gratified  in  stating  my  belief  that  our 
organization  is  rapidly  gaining  in  strength  and  im- 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  55 

portance,  and  through  its  instrumentality  thousands 
of  starving  widows  and  orphans  have  been  fed  and 
clothed,  while  other  thousands  of  our  poor,  helpless, 
crippled  comrades  have  been  placed  in  positions  where 
they  could  earn  their  own  bread,  who,  but  for  our  in- 
strumentality, would  be  left  to  seek  their  support  from 
the  cold  hand  of  charity,  and  the  Union  soldier  dis- 
dains to  beg.  I  would  also  state  that  all  the  docu- 
ments, files  of  correspondence,  books,  etc.,  remaining 
in  my  office,  will  be  held  subject  to  the  requisition  of 
my  successor. 


* 


In  conclusion,  I  would  offer  my  hearty  congratula- 
tions for  the  unprecedented  success  of  our  organiza- 
tion, so  dear  to  the  heart  of  every  patriot  soldier,  and 
earnestly  trust  that  the  deliberations  of  this  body  may 
prove  harmonious,  and  such  action  be  matured  as  will 
better  develop  the  power  and  influence  of  our  order 
for  good  throughout  our  land. 
Fraternally, 

B.  F.  STEPHENSON, 
Adft  Geril  G.  A.  R.,  U.  S. 

Adjutant  Stephenson  reported  fifteen  States  perma- 
nently organized,  and  provisional  organizations 
"throughout  nearly  every  State  and  Territory  in  our 
country."  This  he  had  accomplished  "with  but  crude 
materials  at  his  command  (mere  local  influence,  and 
but  little  pecuniary  means),"  for  even  after  the  Indian- 
apolis convention,  during  his  one  year  and  two  months 
term  of  office  as  Adjutant-General,  he  had  the  respon- 
sibility, labor,  direction,  and  almost  the  sole  expense 
of  the  organization  to  support.  In  this  time  "thousands 
of  starving  widows  and  orphans  had  been  fed  and 


56  A    MEMOIR    OF 

clothed,  while  other  thousands  of  our  poor,  helpless' 
crippled  comrades  had  been  placed  in  positions  where 
they  could  earn  their  own  bread,  who;  but  for  our  in- 
strumentality, would  be  left  to  seek  their  support  from 
the  cold  hand  of  charity."  Truly  a  great  work. 

No  doubt  the  fact  that  Dr.  Stephenson's  work  was 
soon  forgotten  and  that  the  Grand  Army  early  began 
to  doubt  who  was  its  originator,  is  due,  partially  to 
the  extreme  modesty  of  this  report,  and  partially  to 
the  incompleteness  of  the  records  turned  over  to  Gen. 
N.  P.  Chipman,  the  successor  to  Dr.  Stephensou.  Gen. 
Chipman  complained  of  the  incompleteness  of  this  rec- 
ord in  his  report  at  the  close  of  his  term  of  office. 
Just  why  so  few  and  such  incomplete  records  were 
turned  over  by  Dr.  Stephenson  to  his  successor,  I  am 
unable  to  say.  Great  quantities  of  my  father's  papers 
relative  to  the  G.  A.  R.  were  burned  by  my  (motber 
after  my  father's  death.  She  destroyed  them  because 
she  was  ignorant  of  their  value.  I  have  been  greatly 
embarrassed  in  my  present  undertaking  owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  material  from  which  to  collect  data  and  for 
that  reason  this  memoir  is  not  nearly  so  complete  as 
I  should  like  it  to  be.  Among  the  few  papers  pertain- 
ing to  the  G.  A.  E.  left,  is  a  letter-book  containing 
copies  of  letters  sent  from  Headquarters  during  the 
months  of  October,  November,  December,  1866,  and 
January,  1867,  corresponding,  I  presume,  to  the  letter- 
book  mentioned  by  Gen.  Chipman  in  his  report  as 
turned  over  to  him  by  his  predecessor,  and  as  contain- 
ing copies  of  letters  received  at  Headquarters  during 
those  months.  Those  of  the  letters  which  were  written 
after  the  Indianapolis  convention  are  all  in  my  father's 
own  handwriting.  From  this  latter  fact  I  draw  the 
conclusion,  that  they  were  written  and  copied  by  Dr. 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  57 

Stephenson  before  he  hired  a  clerk,  and  under  stress 
of  the  prodigious  amount  of  work  he  was  trying  to 
accomplish,  viz,,  to  attend  to  his  practice,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  organize  a  vast  order.  I  imagine  that  un- 
der this  stress  he  got  behind  with  his  correspondence ; 
possibly  some  letters  were  misplaced,  and  he  failed  to 
copy  them  in  their  proper  places ;  thus  his  records  be- 
came incomplete,  and  were  finally  neglected  as  far  as 
the  letter-books  were  concerned.  The  General  also  com- 
plained that  the  register  of  departments  was  incom- 
plete, and  that  no  files  of  letters  were  transmitted  to 
him.  This  is  lamentable,  but  the  General  should  have 
known  that  Dr.  Stephenson  had  odds  to  contend 
against  with  which  no  succeeding  Adjutant  has  ever 
been  confronted.  He  should  have  kept  a  perfect  record, 
but  there  were  extenuating  circumstances.  It  is  much 
to  .be  regretted  that  Dr.  Stephenson  was  not  more 
methodical,  but  it  would  seem  that  his  brethren  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  ought  not  to  be  captious  in  their  criticisms 
but  should  view  his  faults  with  some  indulgence.  Gen. 
Chipman  also  mentions  the  fact  that  the  manuscript 
of  Adjutant  Stephenson's  report  was  not  turned  over 
to  him,  but  that  he  was  obliged  to  copy  it  from  the 
files  of  the  "Ohio  Republic."  It  does  not  appear  that 
Adjutant  Stephenson  was  very  anxious  to  blow  his 
own  trumpet,  or  to  secure  his  own  aggrandizement. 

At  the  second  annual  convention  the  financial  ex- 
hibit was  as  follows:  Expenditures  during  the  year, 
for  printing,  office  rent,  clerk  hire,  postage,  etc., 
$1637.56.  Receipts  from  the  several  Departments, 
$352.  Deficit  due  Dr.  Stepheuson,  $1285.56.  Comrade 
J.  T.  Owens,  of  Philadelphia,  at  this  time  advanced  to 
Dr.  Stephenson,  on  behalf  of  the  order,  $500.  It  ap- 
pears that  besides  the  expenditures  set  down  there  were 


58  A  MEMOIR  OF 

unpaid  printing  bills,  amounting  to  nearly  $1400,  in  the 
aggregate.  These  bills  were  also  paid  by  Comrade 
Owens,  and  the  Grand  Army  was  allowed  three  years 
time  in  which  to  pay  the  debt.  The  deficit  still  due 
Comrade  Stephenson  was  $785.56.  At  the  next  annual 
encampment,  the  Adjutant  reported  some  payment 
made  on  the  debt  due  Comrade  Owens;  and  at  the 
fourth  encampment  the  Adjutant  was  able  to  report 
the  indetedness  of  $785.56  due  Comrade  Stephenson, 
and  that  of  about  $1400  due  Comrade  Owens,  which 
they  had  failed  to  meet  in  their  second  year,  as  en- 
tirely liquidated. 

At  the  second  annual  convention,  Gen.  John  A. 
Logan,  of  Illinois,  was  elected  Commander-in-Chief  to 
succeed  Gen.  S.  A.  Hurlbut.  The  rules  in  regard  to 
the  election  of  Adjutant-General  were  changed,  and 
henceforth  that  office  was  filled  by  appointment.  Gten. 
Logan  appointed  Gen.  N.  P.  Chipman  to  succeed  Dr. 
B.  F.  Stephenson,  as  Adj. -Gen.  G.  A.  K. 

In  a  remarkably  short  time  after  its  origin,  very  few 
members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  outside  of  Illinois  could  have 
told  who  was  the  founder  of  the  order.  So  soon  after 
the  founding  as  May  12,  1869.  Adjutant  Chipman,  in 
his  report  to  the  third  annual  encampment  G.  A.  R. 
makes  the  following  remark,  which  was  left  on  record: 

"Who  were  its  (the  G.  A.  R.'s)  originators  is  rather 
a  matter  of  tradition  than  record,  although  there  can, 
be  no  doubt  that  the  late  Adj't.  Gen.,  B.  F.  Stephen- 
son,  was  one  of  the  prime  movers."  And  this,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that,  in  response  to  Gen.  Chip- 
man's  request,  Dr.  Stephenson  had  written  and  sent 
to  him  an  account  of  the  organization  of  the  order. 
However,  it  may  very  probably  be  that  the  account 


DR.    STEPHENSON.  59 

Dr.  Stephenson  sent  Gen.  Chiprnan  was  not  very  de- 
tailed and  not  so  clear  as  it  seemed  to  the  doctor  to 
have  been.  He  often  wrote  carelessly. 

Concerning  Dr.  Stephenson  as  the  originator  of  the 
G.  A.  E.,  Col.  Grass,  before  alluded  to  in  this  work, 
writes : 

"The  subject  (of  the  G.  A.  R.)  was  very  near  to  your 
father's  heart.  His  love  for  the  old  soldier  and  his  in- 
terest in  and  sympathy  for  the  soldier's  widow  and 
his  orphans  was  deep,  unselfish  and  intense.  In  our 
frequent  conversations  on  the  subject  (of  forming  a 
national  soldiers'  union)  I  often  laughingly  spoke  of 
it  as  his  'pet  hobby." 

"I  have  been  informed  that  certain  parties  are  claim- 
ing the  paternity  of  the  name.  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic.  I  know  that  their  pretensions  and  claims 
are  false.  Your  father  and  I  frequently  conversed  about 
the  name  that  should  be  given  to  the  organization, 
and  when  he  brought  his  manuscript  to  me,  as  above 
stated,  he  said  that  he  had  decided  to  call  the  organ- 
ization 'The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.'  I  recollect 
saying  to  him  that  it  was  a  grand  name  and  ought 
to  be  retained." 

"Of  course,  I  do  not  pretend  to  know  when  your 
father  first  conceived  the  idea  of  such  an  organiza- 
tion, nor  have  I  any  doubt  but  what  he  talked  to 
and  consulted  with  many  of  his  old  army  friends  in 
regard  to  the  idea  of  such  an  organization  as  the 
G.  A.  R.  But  from  my  close  acquaintance  with  him, 
and  my  knowledge  of  the  first  organization  of  the 
order,  I  have  no  hesitancy  in  affirming  that  the  grand 
'idea'  of  such  a  soldiers'  organization  originated 
alone  with  Dr.  B.  F.  Stephenson,  and  that  he  is  not 


60  A    MEMOIR    OF 

only  the  sponsor  and  god-father,  but  the  actual 
father  and  sole  originator  of  the  society  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic." 

"Abraham  Lincoln  was  no  more  seriously  in  earnest 
when  he  issued  the  emancipation  proclamation  than 
was  your  father  when,  he  originated  and  organized  the 
O.  A.  R." 

"From  the  very  start  he  was  enthusiastically  hope- 
ful ;  not  only  hopeful,  but,  I  sometimes  thought, 
overweeningly  sanguine.  He  never  for  a  moment  ex- 
pressed the  slightest  doubt  of  a  grand  success.  He 
often  and  often  said  to  me  that  every  loyal  soldier 
in  the  Union  would  come  within  its  folds,  and  that 
through  its  instrumentality  every  soldier's  widow  and 
orphan  would  be  provided  for.  In  looking  back 
through  the  long  vista  of  years  since  I  heard  those 
kindly  and  cheering  words,  I  can  not  but  feel  that 
they  were  the  utterances  of  a  hopeful  and  truly 
prophetic  soul." 

In  the  frequent  newspaper  articles  relating  to  the 
O.  A.  R.,  the  founder  is  usually  mentioned  incidentally 
as  "one  of  the  founders  of  the  order,"  or  as  an  ob- 
scure person  who  "founded  the  first  Post,  at  Decatur, 
111." 

It  has  of  late  years  become  quite  the  fad  for  orators 
and  writers,  when  discoursing  on  the  origin  of  the 
O.  A.R.,  to  affirm  that  the  founder,  or,  more  frequently, 
the  founders,  of  this  order  little  imagined  to  what 
greatness  it  would  attain.  I  have  seen  this  assertion 
very  frequently  in  articles  and  enthusiastic  orations 
pertaining  to  the  G.  A.  R.  People  who  speak  in  this 
manner  of  the  dead  who  are  no  longer  here  to  defend 
or  explain  themselves  should  reflect  on  what  they  do. 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  61 

Why  should  it  be  taken  for  granted,  as  though  it  were 
a  foregone  conclusion,  that  B.  F.  Stephenson  wrought 
without  knowledge  and  without  inspiration?  Do  men 
spend  time,  enthusiasm,  money,  hard  labor  of  brain 
and  hand,  for  what  they  conceive  to  be  a  cause 
mediocre  in  importance?  Are  not  the  objects  for 
which  such  expenditures  are  made  at  least  imagined  to 
be  great?  Was  B.  F.  Stephenson  a  fool,  to  spend,  as 
he  spent  himself,  for  something  which  he  did  not  "real- 
ize" was  destined  to  greatness?  He,  a  poor  man,  had 
no  assurance  that  the  money  he  spent  on  the  organiza- 
tion would  ever  be,  in  part,  even,  refunded.  Was  hey 
then,  likely  to  throw  it  away  on  what  he  did  not  be- 
lieve would  accomplish  great  good  ?  Was  he  likely  to 
have  worked  himself  into  a  great  enthusiasm  over  the 
order,  and  persevered  in  carrying  out  his  plans  of  or- 
ganization in  spite  of  discouragement  on  all  sides;  in 
spite  of  limited  means  and  over-taxed  time;  in  spite  of 
jealousies  and  rivalries  among  the  men  he  was  trying 
to  organize;  in  spite  of  all  these  drawbacks  was  he 
likely  to  have  persisted,  and  accomplished  his  purpose, 
if  he  had  not  had  a  very  clear  vision  in  his  mind's  eye 
of  what  the  order  would  become  in  time;  of  what  it 
would  accomplish  for  the  soldier  and  his  family?  There 
are  living  witnesses  who  could  truthfully  make  oath 
that  Dr.  Stephenson  had  this  clear  vision  of  the  de- 
stined greatness  of  his  order.  He,  himself,  has  left 
written  proof  of  the  clearness  of  his  vision,  proof  that 
he  knew  just  what  he  was  doing,  that  he  wrought  with 
knowledge,  with  forethought,  with  design. 

A  certain  story  has  been  running  the  rounds  of 
G.  A.  E.  circles,  and  seems  to  have  gained  some  atten- 
tion even  in  high  places.  As  nearly  as  I  can  recall  itr 
the  legend  runs  on  this  wise: 


62  A  MEMOIR  OP 

According  to  Chaplain  W.  J.  Rutledge,  of  Jackson- 
ville, 111.,  formerly  chaplain  of  the  14th  111.  Inf.,  Dr. 
Stephenson  and  he  were  talking  together  one  evening 
over  the  cheerful  camp-fire.  It  was  while  the  troops 
were  on  the  Meridian  raid.  In  the  course  of  the  con- 
versation, which  had  turned  on  the  prospects  of  soL 
diers  on  their  return  to  private  life,  Chaplain  Rutledge 
says  that  he  exclaimed  to  Dr.  Stephenson  that  it  would 
be  a  glorious  thing  if,  on  the  advent  of  peace,  the  sol- 
diers would  form  themselves  into  a  society.  On  the 
grounds  of  this  assertion,  Chaplain  Rutledge  and  his 
friends  have  based  the  claim  that  Chaplain  Rutledge 
first  suggested  to  B.  F.  Stephenson  the  idea  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Of  this  claim  I  would  say,  first,  Dr.  B.  F.  Stephenson 
was  a  man  at  once  just  and  generous.  Elsewhere  in 
this  book  he  speaks  of  Mr.  Rutledge  in  terms  of  high 
commendation,  as  a  man  who  did  gallant  duty  in  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  thus  showing  that  he  (Dr.  Stephen- 
son)  bore  no  enmity  to  the  chaplain,  but  rather  was 
his  friend.  In  these  pages  I  have  attempted  to  deline- 
ate my  father's  character  as  it  really  was,  that  of  a 
man  to  whom  the  idea  of  defrauding  any  man  of  credit 
for  merit  justly  due  him,  could  scarcely,  by  any  possi- 
bility, present  itself  as  a  temptation.  The  innate  con- 
stitution of  his  mind  forbade  it.  If,  then,  he  was  con- 
scious of  owing  the  idea  of  the  G.  A.  R.  to  Mr.  W.  J. 
Rutledge,  would  he  not  certainly  have  left  a  record  of 
the  fact?  Would  he  not  have  mentioned  it  to  some 
one,  at  least,  of  the  many  friends  with  whom  he  talked 
over  his  plans  of  organization?  Would  he  not  have 
mentioned  the  fact  in  his  manuscript  account  of  the 
organization?  The  fact  of  the  case  is,  that  none  of 
the  gentlemen  connected  with  the  early  organization 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  63 

seem  to  have  heard  of  the  Rev.  Rutledge's  alleged  con- 
nection with  the  founding  of  the  order  until  they  heard 
the  story  from  the  chaplain,  himself,  many  years  after 
the  order  was  established.  One  or  two  of  the  gentle- 
men who  were  in  Dr.  Stephenson's  councils  at  the  be- 
ginning, have  told  me  that  my  father  never  either  said 
or  implied  that  the  Rev.  W.  J.  Rutledge  had  anything 
to  do  with  suggesting  the  idea  of  the  G.  A.  R.  to  him, 
or  mentioned  Rutledge's  name  in  connection  with  it. 
At  the  annual  encampment  of  the  Illinois  Depart- 
ment, G.  A.  R..  that  of  1891,  held  in  Decatur,  111.,  the 
surviving  members  of  Dr.  B.  F.  Stephenson's  provis- 
ional staff,  whom  he  had  appointed  when  Provisional 
€ommander-in-Chief,  had  a  statement  read  before  the 
assembled  soldiers.  I  regret  that  my  copy  of  this 
statement  has  been  mislaid  and  presumably  lost.  I 
should  like  to  quote  it  verbatim  and  give  the  names 
appended.  This  statement  was  drawn  up  at  a  special 
meeting  of  the  surviving  members  of  the  staff  for  that 
especial  object,  and  was  to  the  effect  that  no  one  of 
the  members  had  any  knowledge  of  any  connection 
whatever  of  Chaplain  W.  J.  Rutledge  with  the  founding 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  This  document, 
as  mentioned  above,  was  read  before  the  department 
encampment  of  1891,  at  Decatur,  111.,  and  is  to  be  de- 
posited in  the  National  Memorial  Hall,  when  that  build- 
ing shall  be  erected,  among  the  archives  of  the  order, 
and  there  it  may  be  found  by  the  curious  or  doubtful. 
In  Dr.  Stepheuson's  short  manuscript  account  of  the 
organization  he  does  not  mention  Mr.  Rutledge's  name, 
but  says,  explicitly,  "The  idea  originated  with  me,  in 
January,  1866.''  The  testimony  of  Dr.  Stephenson 
and  his  helpers  in  this  matter,  viewed  in  the  light  of 
his  character,  force  the  conclusion  that  Dr.  Stephenson 


64  A  MEMOIR  OF 

was  not  conscious  of  owing  the  idea  of  the  G.  A.  R, 
to  W.  J.  Rutledge. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  impeach  the  veracity  of  the 
reverend  gentleman.  Doubtless  he  did  converse  with 
Dr.  Stephenson  at  the  time  and  place  alleged ;  doubt- 
less, in  the  course  of  the  conversation,  the  chaplain 
remarked  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  the  soldiers 
would  form  a  union  on  disbanding.  This  conversa- 
tion, evidently,  did  not  live  as  a  unique  thing  in  Dr. 
Stephenson 's  mind.  Evidently  he  did  not  associate 
Mr.  Rutledge  with  his  (Stephenson's)  own  idea  of  the 
founding  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  During 
the  latter  days  of  the  war,  thoughtful  soldiers  often 
conversed  about  their  prospects  in  the  event  of  peace, 
what  they  would  do  on  their  return  to  their  homes. 
One  old  soldier,  a  very  dear  friend  of  my  father,  tells 
me  they  (the  soldiers)  often  talked  together  of  what 
they  would  do  on  returning  to  their  homes,  the  dan- 
gers attendant  on  disbanding  large  bodies  of  troops, 
the  best  course  for  the  ex-soldiers  to  pursue,  etc.  In 
the  numberless  conversations  held  on  these  subjects  it 
is  altogether  probable  that  many  others  expressed 
themselves  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  in  which  Mr. 
Rutledge  seems  to  have  done,  possibly  Dr.  Stephenson, 
himself,  among  the  number.  Mr.  Rutledge,  however, 
seems  to  be  the  only  one  who  felt  that  he  was  war- 
ranted in  asserting  that  he  suggested  the  idea  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  to  its  founder. 

If  we  should  grant  for  the  sake  of  argument  that 
W.  J.  Rutledge  was  the  only  man  who  expressed  the 
idea  of  a  soldiers'  union  to  Dr.  Stephenson,  and  that 
Dr.  Stephenson  had  never  previously  imagined  such  a 
thing,  it  would  still  appear  to  the  unprejudiced  mind 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  > 

that  the  chaplain  and  his  friends  were  making  mucfr 
ado,  if  not  about  nothing,  about  an  infinitesimal  not 
much  the  hither  side  of  zero.  The  chief  American  idea 
has  always  been  union,  and  it  has  taken  such  hold  of 
the  public  mind  that  we  have  unions  for  everything. 
In  union  there  is  strength:  we  all  know  it,  and  have 
many  times  seen  it  proved.  The  soldiers'  interest 
then  lay  in  protective  union  of  some  kind ;  the  idea 
was  not  very  hard  to  evolve.  I  do  not  believe  that 
Mr.  Rut-ledge  has  ever  claimed  that  he  suggested  any 
definite  kind  of  union,  such  as  Dr.  Stephenson  after- 
wards established,  with  grips  and  passwords,  secret 
ritual,  and  thorough  organization  for  permanent  and 
effectual  work.  Granting  these  by  no  means  proved 
premises,  that  Mr.  Rutledge  was  the  only  man  who 
ever  mentioned  union  as  a  specific  for  soldiers'  ills  to 
Dr.  Stephenson,  during;  his  army  life,  we  are  not  war- 
ranted in  concluding  that  B.  F.  Stephenson  was  any 
more  indebted  to  Mr.  Rutledge  for  the  idea  of  the  G. 
A.  R.  than  to  the  local  unions  which  we  have  already 
seen  had  sprung  up  in  several  States  previous  to 
the  founding  of  the  Grand  Army.  And  it  might  very 
naturally  transpire  that  the  man  who  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  not  a  vague  union,  who  carried 
out  his  wide-reaching  and  effective  plans,  who  spent 
freely  his  time,  money,  brain,  muscle,  and  nerve-force 
in  organizing  the  stupendous  work,  who  carried  to  the 
work  such  pure  motives  and  wrought  with  such  zeal, 
ability,  and  diplomatic  skill  that  his  self-sacrificing  en- 
ergy seemed  to  have  the  magic  of  Aladdin's  lamp  and 
raise  the  mighty  structure  of  his  dreams  in  a  night, 
as  it  were,  it  might  well  be  that  such  a  man  would 
never  have  connected  the  vague  suggestions  of  Chap- 


66  A  MEMOIR   OF 

lain  Rutledge  with  his  own  definite  schemes.  Even  if 
he  had  chanced  to  remember  the  momentous  conversa- 
tion, it  is  not  likely  that  he  would  have  supposed  Mf. 
Rutledge  attached  any  importance  to  it. 

Doubtless  many  things  tended  to  develop  the  idea  of 
the  G.  A.  R.  in  Ur.  Stephenson's  mind.  All  inventions 
are  the  gradual  development  of  floating  notions  into 
ideas.  In  all  probability  he  had  as  valid  a  claim  to 
the  origination  of  the  idea  of  the  order  as  most  inven- 
tors and  originators  have  to  their  inventions.  I  am 
convinced  that  Dr.  Stephenson  not  only  thought  he 
was  the  originator  of  the  idea,  but  that  he  really  was. 

According  to  some  of  Mr.  Rutledge's  hyperbolical 
friends,  he  was  "largely  instrumental  in  founding  the 
order,"  and,  "but  for  him  it  would  not  exist  at  the 
present  day."  This  seems  strange  language  to  any  one 
cognizant  of  the  facts  of  the  case.  I  do  not  know 
that  Mr.  Rutledge  himself  ever  went  so  far  in  his 
claims  as  some  of  his  friends  have  gone  for  him,  neither 
do  I  know  that  he  has  ever  corrected  their  extrava- 
gant assertions.  If  he  was  so  important  a  factor  as 
his  friends  would  have  us  believe,  does  it  not  seem 
strange  that  none  of  those  associated  with  Dr.  Ste- 
phenson  in  founding  the  order  have  "any  knowledge 
of  any  connection  of  W.  J.  Rutledge  with  the  organiza- 
tion, whatever?"  Verily,  it  is  so  strange  that  it  is 
utterly  inexplicable.  Chaplain  Rutledge  and  his  friends 
know  that  Dr.  Stephenson  is  dead  and  can  not  speak 
for  himself,  but  do  they  also  think  that  all  his  friends, 
all  those  connected  with  the  early  organization,  are 
dead,  too,  and  that  his  family  have  no  more  knowl- 
edge than  the  beasts  that  perish? 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  67 

From  an  article  in  the  Century,  for  May,  1890,  en- 
titled "  The  G.  A.  R.  as  Seen  from  the  Inside,"  I  gather 
that  the  writer,  and,  possibly,  some  others,  have  an 
idea  floating  indefinitely  in  their  minds  that  the  G.  A.  R. 
is  a  notable  example  of  spontaneous  generation,— that 
it  sprang  up  of  its  own  free  will,  and  flourished  exceed- 
ingly because  it  was  its  nature  so  to  do.  According 
to  this  writer,  the  organization  was  u  shaped  after  the 
plan  of  an  enthusiast,  Dr.  B.  F.  Stephenson,  who  or- 
ganized the  first  local  society,  or  Post,  at  Decatur, 
Illinois,  in  1866." 

"Although  it  was  intended  by  the  founders  to  make 
the  movement  a  National  one,  the  causes  which  lead 
to  the  rapid  growth  of  the  order  throughout  the  North 
were  quite  outside  of  those  that  were  operating  from 
the  little  centre  at  Decatur,  111."  He  goes  on  to  tell 
how,  by  1866,  Soldiers'  Unions,  under  various  names, 
had  been  formed  in  different  States,  some  States  hav- 
ing two  or  three  of  these  unions,  each  and  all  having 
the  avowed  object  of  securing  the  welfare  of  the  soldier. 

"The  problem  (of  how  the  welfare  of  the  soldier  was 
to  be  secured)  was  a  difficult  one,  especially  as  the 
meetings  were  held  in  open  convention ;  and  experience 
gained  in  other  fraternities  suggested  to  the  veterans 
that  they  abandon  the  convention  method,  unite  under 
a  strong  vow,  and  adopt  a  system  of  instruction:  In 
the  winter  of  1866-67  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic, which  had  started  out  with  these  features,  a  solemn 
oath  and  an  impressive  ritual,  was  brought  to  the  at- 
tention of  the  soldiers  throughout  the  North,  and  the 
veteran  societies  existing  were  rapidly  changed  into 
Posts  and  Departments  of  that  order.  The  idea  was 
very  popular,  and,  at  the  second  annual  encampment 


68    .  A  MEMOIR  OF 

of  the  order  held  at  Philadelphia,  in  January,  1868, 
there  were  representatives  from  twenty-one  States.  The 
strength  of  the  movement  lay  in  the  west,  and  the 
delegates  from  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ohio  constituted 
one-half  of  the  assembly.  An  Illinois  veteran,  Gen. 
John  A.  Logan,  was  elected  Commander-in-Chief.  This 
encampment  was  successful,  and  decided  two  very  im- 
portant questions  for  the  new  association  of  veterans. 
It  would  be  National  and  absorb  all  others;  it  would 
be  secret  and  non-partisan.  The  exact  lines  on  which 
so  vast  an  organization  would  develop  could  not  be 
fixed  by  resolutions  or  by-laws.  Dr.  Stephenson's 
ideas  of  secrecy  and  fraternity  were  sustained  by  a 
large  following  in  the  west,  and  the  rules  and  the  ritual 
that  had  originated  with  him,  were  retained  with  some 
amendment." 

I  do  not  claim  for  my  father  any  more  praise  than 
is  justly  due  him.  I  desire  merely  to  present  the  facts 
of  his  life,  tell  what  he  did,  and  let  the  soldiers  decide 
how  much  gratitude  and  praise  is  equitably  his  due. 

I  admit  that  the  soldiers  were  ready  for  the  G.  A.  K. 
when  the  idea  was  presented  to  them.  They  felt  that 
their  interests  were  not  regarded  as  they  should  have 
been;  that  they  were  neglected.  The  remedy  for  this? 
of  course,  they  saw  was  in  union,  and  they  effected 
local  unions.  Dr.  Stephenson  conceived  the  idea  of  a 
National  Union  of  a  peculiarly  effective  kind,  and,  by 
spending  time,  money,  thought  and  manual  labor,  or- 
ganized such  a  union,  and  nourished  it  to  the  point  of 
standing  alone.  Because  the  soldiers  were  ripe  for  this 
idea,  is  the  one  who  exerted  himself  so  much  to  perfect 
it,  and  to  insure  the  ultimate  success  of  the  order,  en- 
titled to  no  gratitude? 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  69 

Miss  Anna  Ella  Carroll,  daughter  of  ex-Governor 
Carroll,  of  Maryland,  devised  a  plan  which  was  ulti- 
mately successful  in  the  taking  of  Vicksburg.  She  in- 
duced the  government  to  adopt  this  plan  instead  of 
the  one  which  the  government,  in  connection  with  the 
military  authorities,  had  designed.  The  result  was 
the  capture  of  Vicksburg.  Because  the  plan  was  to  be 
kept  secret  until  accomplished,  Miss  Carroll's  name 
was  not  published  at  first  in  connection  with  it.  Her 
case  has  been  brought  before  the  government  three 
times,  and  still  justice  has  not  been  done  her.  If  she 
had  been  a  Major  General  and  had  accomplished  what 
she  has  achieved,  her  fame  would  have  been  spread 
abroad  from  the  lakes  to  the  gulf.  Honor  and  emolu- 
ment would  have  been  her  portion.  But  she  was  a 
person  unknown  to  fame,  and  a  woman.  We  reason 
with  a  fallacy  worthy  of  Hume,  himself,  the  experience 
of  the  world  goes  to  show  that  great  generals  form 
the  successful  plans  for  campaigns,  and,  pitted  against 
universal  experience  to  the  contrary,  no  amount  of 
evidence  can  be  sufficient  to  convince  us  that  Miss 
Carroll  has  done  anything  worthy  of  reward. 

If  my  father  had  been  a  Major  General  he  would 
have  been  lauded  to  the  skies  for  what  he  has  done. 
Being  plain  Dr.  Stephenson,  with  a  name  unknown  to 
fame,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  convince  the  public 
that  he  merits  any  praise. 

But  the  soldiers  were  ripe  for  the  G.  A.  K.,  ergo,  it 
is  to  be  supposed  that  the  founder  was  a  mere  pro- 
duct of  his  era.  In  1776,  Americans  were  ready  for  in- 
dependence. The  principle  of  liberty,  which  early  germi- 
nated in  the  breasts  of  Englishmen,  for  centuries  had 
been  developing,  until,  in  those  hardy  pioneers,  men 


70  A    MEMOIR    OF 

chosen  of  God  for  the  founding  of  a  great  nation,  this 
principle  had  grown  to  such  strength  that  they 
were  ready  to  cast  aside  their  swaddling  clothes,  to 
throw  prejudice  to  the  winds.  For  this  reason,  then, 
shall  we  give  the  members  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
who  signed  the  charter  of  our  freedom,  no  credit  for 
manliness,  for  high  moral  courage,  philanthropy,  and 
patriotism?  The  attaint  of  treason  to  the  government 
across  the  water,  the  danger  of  suffering  the  extreme 
penalty  of  the  law,  when  weighed  against  the  cause  of 
their  oppressed  fellow-countrymen,  sprang  up,  and 
they  signed  the  Declaration  like  men. 

The  real  facts  in  the  case,  as  recorded  elsewhere  in 
this  book,  show  that  it  was  Dr.  Stephenson,  and  not 
''experience  gained  in  other  fraternities,"  that  led  the 
veterans  to  "unite  under  a  strong  vow  and  adopt  a 
system  of  instruction."  It  was  the  same  person  who 
brought  the  G.  A.  R.  "to  the  attention  of  the  soldiers 
throughout  the  North." 

"The  strength  of  the  movement,"  says  the  Century 
writer,  "lay  in  the  West,  and  the  delegates  from  Illi- 
nois, Indiana  and  Ohio  constituted  one-half  of  the 
assembly"  (second  annual  convention  G.  A.  R.).  Let 
me  ask.  why  was  this?  Were  there  braver  soldiers, 
more  distinguished  officers,  in  the  West  than  elsewhere 
in  the  republic?  Leaving  out  Unconditional  Surrender 
Grant,  did  our  Western  generals  surpass  the  Eastern 
in  fame  and  achievements?  There  were  as  many  brave- 
and  gallant  officers  to  be  found  in  the  old  Bay  State, 
the  cradle  of  American  liberty,  as  in  any  other.  The 
soldiers  of  the  Empire  State  were  not  behind  others 
in  prowess.  The  same  might  be  said  of  the  other 
Eastern  and  Middle  States.  The  South  furnished 


DR.    STEPHENSON.  71 

many  brave  and  gallant  officers  and  men  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  Union.  Why  then  should  the  strength  of 
this  convention  come  from  the  West?  The  answer  is 
plain.  There  had  been  a  hand  and  a  heart  at  work 
there.  The  G.  A.  E.  was  not  a  spontaneous  fungus, 
but  was  rapidly  developing  under  the  guidance  and 
energy  of  its  founder.  From  the  "little  centre"  of 
Decatur,  111.,  and  vicinity,  the  germ  was  growing  and 
spreading,  rapidly,  it  is  true,  but  under  intelligent 
direction.  Those  nearest  the  centre  were  naturally 
most  strongly  affected  by  the  impulse  at  work,  those 
easiest  reached,  soonest  organized. 

I  do  not  know  that  I  strongly  object  to  my  father 
being  called  an  "  enthusiast."  Really,  if  it  were  not 
for  the  k<  enthusiasts"  who  have  lived  in  the  world,  I 
cannot  see  how  we  should  ever  have  emerged  from  the 
darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  am  inclined  to  think 
we  should  still  be  groping  there.  The  world  needs 
enthusiasts.  They  can  remove  mountains  and  work 
miracles.  It  is  mediocrity,  alone,  that  can  get  on 
without  enthusiasm.  Was  there  ever  anything  great 
done  without  an  enthusiast  had  hold  of  the  lever? 
Enthusiasm  is  one  great  beauty  which  we  admire  in 
the  young;  blessed  are  they  who  carry  into  middle 
and  old  %age  this  golden  trait  of  youth. 


72  A  MEMOIR  OF 


PART  IV. 


"Within  this  lowly  grave  a  conqueror  lies; 
And  yet  the  monument  proclaims  it  not, 
Nor  round  the  sleeper's  name  hath  chisel  wrought 
The  emblems  of  a  fame  that  never  dies — 
Ivy  and  amaranth  in  a  graceful  sheaf 
Twined  with  the  laurel's  fair,  imperial  leaf,    . 
A  simple  name  alone, 
To  the  great  world  unknown, 
Is  graven  here,  and  wild  flowers  rising  round 
Meek  meadow-sweet  and  violets  of  the  ground, 
Lean  lovingly  against  the  humble  stone. 

Here,  in  the  quiet  earth,  they  laid  apart 
No  man  of  iron  mould  and  bloody  hands, 
Who  sought  to  wreak  upon  the  cowering  lands 

The  passion  that  consumed  his  restless  heart ; 
********* 

One  in  whose  eyes  the  smile  of  kindness  made 
Its  haunt,  like  flowers  by  sunny  brooks  in  May ; 

Yet  at  the  thought  of  others'  pain,  a  shade 
Of  sweeter  sadness  chased  the  smile  away." 

After  the  year  1869,  my  father  began  to  feel  seri- 
ously the  effects  of  his  army  life,  and  his  health  com- 
menced to  decline  rapidly.  Business  troubles  oppressed 
him.  His  circumstances  were  not  good.  The  practice 
of  medicine,  with  its  incident  exposures  and  irregular 
hours,  was  not  conducive  to  the  improvement  of  his 
health.  Having  been  a  stanch  republican  from  the 
rise  of  the  party,  and  having  taken  an  active  part  in 
State  politics  since  the  war,  he  made  several  attempts 
to  obtain  an  office  of  some  kind  that  he  might  give 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  73 

up  the  practice  of  medicine,  which  was  hurtful  to  him, 
and  support  his  family  in  comfort.  He,  at  length, 
succeeded  in  getting  appointed  to  one  of  the  smaller 
offices  in  the  patronage  of  the  government,  but  before 
entering  on  its  duties  he  was  obliged  to  resign  it  on 
account  of  his  rapidly  failing  health. 

A  little  incident  which  occurred  about  this  time  was 
related  to  me  by  Gen.  James  C.  Veatch,  commander 
of  the  2d  Brigade,  4th  Division,  16th  Army  Corps, 
Army  of  the  Tennessee.  My  father  was  one  of  Gen. 
Veatch's  staff  officers  during  the  war. 

"Our  last  meeting,"  writes  the  General,  "was  at 
Washington  City,  where  we  both  attended  the  inaugu- 
ration of  Gen.  Grant  as  President. 

"On  leaving  and  bidding;  him  good-bye,  I  expressed 
a  hope  that  we  should  soon  meet  again.  He  replied, 
'No,  we  shall  most  likely  not  see  each  other  again/ 
and  drawing  from  his  watch  chain  a  little  charm  with 
the  face  of  Washington  on  one  side  and  Lincoln  on 
the  other,  said,  'Here  are  the  pictures  of  two  of  the 
greatest  and  purest  men  that  ever  lived.  I  know  of 
no  friend  to  whom  I  would  sooner  give  it  than  to  you. 
Wear  it  in  memory  of  our  friendship  begun  on  the 
tented  field,  but  which  will  last  while  we  live.' '  An 
incident  worthy  of  a  warm-hearted  friend  and  a  pure, 
noble-minded  patriot! 

My  father's  health  continued  to  decline  and  his  busi- 
ness troubles  increased  with  his  failing  health.  Finally, 
in  the  winter  of  1870-71,  he  left  Springfield  and  re- 
moved to  Kock  Creek,  near  his  father's  old  home, 
whither,  in  his  early  days  on  graduating  in  medicine, 
he  had  gone  to  recruit  his  health. 


74  A    MEMOIR  OF 

Here,  at  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  August  30,  1871,  Dr. 
Stephenson  died  in  what  should  have  been  the  prime 
of  his  manhood,  before  he  had  completed  his  forty- 
eighth  year. 

Dr.  Stephenson  was  buried  at  first  in  the  little  coun- 
try cemetery  at  Kock  Creek,  but  was  afterwards  rein- 
terred  by  Estill  Post  No.  71,  G.  A.  E.,on  the  29th  of 
August,  1882,  eleven  years  after  his  death.  The  re- 
interment was  conducted  with  appropriate  ceremonies, 
and  the  remains  of  the  founder  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Kepublic  now  lie  in  Rose  Hill  Cemetery,  Peters- 
burg, Illinois.  He  left  a  widow,  son,  and  two  daughters. 

I  feel  that  it  would  not  be  inappropriate  to  give 
here  some  of  the  expressions  of  esteem  and  friendship 
which  Dr.  Stephenson's  old  friends  have  made  concern- 
ing him. 

General  Veatch  writes  of  Dr.  Stephenson:  "My  old 
friend  whose  heart  and  head  were  always  alive  to  the 
cause  of  our  country  and  its  defenders." 

His  friend,  Judge  J.  H.  Matheny,  of  Springfield,  Illi- 
nois, says  of  him:  "Dr.  Stephenson  was  a  true  man  in 
its  highest  and  grandest  sense,  true  to  his  friends  and 
true  to  his  country.  A  kinder  heart  never  beat  in  a  hu- 
man breast,  and  his  whole  life  was  characterized  by  an 
utter  unselfishness.  He  was  a  patriot,  simple  and  pure, 
and  his  devotion  to  the  great  cause  of  universal  free- 
dom was  absolutely  unwavering." 

Major  John  F.  Nolte,  Independence,  Kansas,  says  of 
his  life-long  friend,  B.  F.  Stephenson:  "That  brave, 
unselfish,  generous,  tender-hearted  man ;  a  man  always 
ready  to  do  for  others." 


DR.   STEPHENSON.  75 

There  is  much  good  in  human  nature,  and  our  friends, 
God  bless  them,  are  prone  to  find  the  nobility  hidden 
even  in  the  most  obdurate  bosoms,  but  surely  the  sub- 
ject of  the  above  tributes  was  a  man  whose  heart  was 
fashioned  after  Divine  Nature's  most  beautiful  mold 
and  imbued  with  her  sunniest  smile.  All  mankind  were 
his  brethren;  he  found  a  friend  and  neighbor  in  each 
suffering  human..  Could  the  grateful  tears  of  the  wid- 
ows and  orphans,  the  friendless  women  and  children, 
whom  he  has  succored,  whom  he  has  restored  to  health, 
whose  gratitude  was  all  he  would  receive,  could  these 
tears  be  gathered  up,  they  would  offer  a  tribute  more 
eloquent  than  tongue  could  utter,  or  pen  transcribe. 

Dr.  Stephenson  was  not  a  professor  of  religion,  but 
he  was  one  to  whom  the  performance  of  the  golden 
rule  seemed  natural,  the  universal  law  of  love  and 
justice  seemed  innate.  He  reverenced  those  who  lived 
true  Christian  lives,  and  loved  to  inculcate  in  his  chil- 
dred  principles  of  truth  and  honesty.  Doubtless  he 
had  faults,  like  all  mortals,  but  his  virtues  so  tran- 
scended his  faults,  that,  happy  destiny!  his  friends  in 
looking  at  his  life  as  a  whole  scarcely  remember  his 
foibles. 

His  was  a  beautiful  life !  A  life  of  generous  thought 
and  labor  for  others,  of  high  aims  and  noble  purposes. 
And  truly  the  purity  of  his  motives,  the  loftiness  of 
his  aims,  and  the  beneficence  of  his  achievements,  may 
well  overshadow  some  frailties  common  to  our  poor 
humanity.  Of  a  truth  it  may  be  said  of  him,  the  world 
is  better,  men  are  nobler,  the  poor  are  richer,  for  his 
life. 


76 


A  MEMOIR  OF 


Through  the  mournful  breath  of  the  cypress  bough, 

Comes  an  undertone  of  cheer; 
The  spirits  of  Love  and  of  Justice  avow : 

"Lo,  one  of  our  own  lies  here!" 
Laid  low  in  the  mold 

Let  him  sleep! 
The  Lord  of  the  Sickle,  old, 

With  him  his  ancient  tryst  did  keep ; 

The  fruition  of  his  heart-throes  his  brethren  shall  reap. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SANTA  CRUZ 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  DATE  stamped  below. 


50m-12,'70(Pl25is8)2373-3A,l 


E462.1.A19S74 


3  2106  00060  7082 


